Trump Proposes Slashing Disability Rights Lawyers as Advocates Warn Communities 'In Harm's Way'

The Trump administration is proposing to slash federal funding for lawyers who defend disabled Americans' rights by more than half, a move that advocates warn would leave vulnerable Americans without legal protection and at risk of abuse.

The proposed budget would cut funding for state-based disability rights groups from £118 million ($148 million) to £55 million ($69 million) for the fiscal year 2026. This reduction comes as several state agencies have already been forced to stop taking new clients due to existing funding delays.

The Origins of 'Protection and Advocacy'

The network of legal services now under threat was born out of a national scandal. The proposed cuts target a federally funded legal system Congress established in the 1970s after journalist Geraldo Rivera exposed horrific abuses at a New York institution for people with mental and intellectual disabilities.

That exposé sparked national outrage and led to the creation of 'protection and advocacy' organisations in every state, most of them non-profit groups providing free legal services to disabled Americans. 'It definitely would put people in our communities in harm's way,' said Marlene Sallo, the national network's executive director.

Agencies Buckling Under Pressure

Polly Tribble, executive director of Disability Rights Mississippi, said her agency has been serving disabled people since the early 1980s. 'This is the first time that we have had to cease taking new cases agency-wide. Congress has already approved and allotted these monies for our agency—we just are waiting to receive it'.

Her organisation's federal mandate is to protect vulnerable people and root out abuse, neglect and exploitation. But without promised funding, when someone calls tomorrow needing assistance, they can only refer them elsewhere. The problem? Those other agencies are dealing with the same cuts and delays. 'If this crisis is not resolved immediately, we are facing devastating layoffs that will severely compromise our ability to protect and serve the disability community,' Tribble said.

A Case Study in Legal Aid

The real-world impact of these services is profound. Isaac Schreier's case shows why these legal services matter. The seven-year-old from Ankeny, Iowa, has osteogenesis imperfecta—brittle bone disease. He has suffered about 60 fractures.

His doctor said he needed a special wheelchair that could be adjusted depending on which bones were broken, but the private insurer managing his Medicaid coverage refused to pay for the £2,770 ($3,500) chair. 'They required proof that it was a permanent and long-standing condition', said his father, Jake Schreier. 'We were very frustrated'.

Disability Rights Iowa linked the family with two lawyers who filed a new appeal, citing specific codes and court precedents. The insurer subsequently reversed its decision and approved the purchase. The chair lets Isaac participate in school even when he has broken bones. 'It's absolutely night and day. I can't imagine a world where we didn't have it', his father said.

Justice Department Lawyers Abandoning Ship

The threat to state-based groups comes alongside what advocates describe as an exodus from the Justice Department's disability rights team. Jennifer Mathis, a former top administrator under Biden and now deputy director of the Bazelon Center, said many experienced disability rights lawyers have left since Trump returned to office.

'There's really skeleton staffing at this point', Mathis said. The overall civil rights division is down to about 300 people—fewer than half the number under Biden.

The division's new director, Harmeet Dhillon, told conservative commentator Glenn Beck in April that more than 100 lawyers had left because they did not priorities. 'The job here is to enforce the federal civil rights laws, not woke ideology', she told Beck.

In a statement, Dhillon said the division continues to be 'a vocal and active advocate for Americans with disabilities', pointing to a recent lawsuit against Uber and agreements with Arkansas and North Carolina to improve treatment of imprisoned disabled people.

A Broader Assault on Disability Programmes

Advocates describe the proposed cuts as part of a wider campaign against disability services. Trump's administration has already laid off nearly half the staff at the Administration for Community Living, which helps fund protection and advocacy agencies, independent living services and disability research. The closure of ACL will eliminate programmes protecting disabled people in long-term care facilities, including the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programme.

Meanwhile, states facing cuts in federal Medicaid contributions may reduce coverage of community care programmes, many considered optional under federal law. David Hutt, deputy executive director for legal services at the National Disability Rights Network, warned this could lead to increased institutionalisation. 'If that happens, you're going to get increased institutionalisation, which actually costs more', he said.

Alison Barkoff, a health law professor at George Washington University who helped lead such efforts in previous administrations, explained what's at stake. 'These are people who, if these supports are ripped away, are going to have to leave their communities and their families, at a higher cost for taxpayers'.