Donald Trump and Elon Musk have made it their mission to slash U.S. federal spending, regardless of the harm to everyday people. One apparent victim of that fund-cutting and firing spree is the Veteran Suicide Prevention Hotline. The hotline is a lifesaving resource that connects American veterans with those who can help them. Despite certain VA exemptions, the hiring freeze has reportedly affected social science assistants (SSAs). Those are the support staff who call 911 on behalf of hotline responders. Without them, response times and suicide rates will both predictably increase. What’s happening to suicide prevention hotlines under Donald Trump and why?
Did Trump Cut the Suicide Prevention Hotline?
The president may not have targeted suicide hotlines, but it doesn’t look like he made any effort to spare them. Upon taking power, Trump and Musk wasted no time in cutting essential programs to the marrow. The president‘s actions have now reportedly affected not only the VA but also the National Institutes of Health. Firing federal workers and freezing the hiring of others has predictable consequences. In a statement on Monday, Johns Hopkins psychiatrist Paul Nestadt described Trump’s freeze on suicide prevention research as “not just a fiscal decisionโit’s a threat to human lives.”
Nor does the threat to Americans’ mental health end there. The U.S. has a long history of both eugenics and weaponized psychiatric treatment. Even Rosemary Kennedy, JFK’s sister, was forcefully lobotomized. If even presidential family members have historically been targeted, already marginalized Americans have every reason to worry. Now, U.S. Health Secretary and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist RFK Jr. wants to withhold SSRIs and other life-saving medications. He has also advocated for putting depressed and disabled people into “Wellness Camps.”
A TikTok on the subject by @tim_fullerton garnered over 265k likes and numerous comments expressing outrage at the president’s actions. Many were quick to comment on the connection between the hotline cuts, medication denials, and Wellness Camps. “Getting rid of SSRIโs AND this hotline feels like an attack ๐ฌ [sic],” said one commenter. Another put things even more bluntly, saying,
They want us all depressed, hopeless and/or dead.
For now, the Veteran Suicide Prevention Hotline is still active. Whether Trump and Musk will be forced to roll back their firing freezes and funding cuts is another matter. If they don’t, the spike of unmanaged psychiatric crises will cause untold harm.
