In a bold move that’s stirring the pot in Washington, the Trump administration has set its sights on slashing the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), accusing it of peddling a progressive agenda.
The Daily Caller reported that this latest action, unfolding amid a contentious government shutdown, involves issuing reduction-in-force notices to about 30 OPA staff members as part of a broader push to realign federal priorities.
The trouble began brewing ahead of the October 1, 2025, deadline when government funding lapsed after Senate Democrats rejected a bipartisan spending bill, tying their support to hefty new expenditures and restrictions on presidential fund rescissions.
As the shutdown loomed, the Office of Management and Budget directed agencies to draft plans for staff reductions in programs either unfunded or out of step with administration goals.
OPA, tasked with advancing reproductive health and adolescent well-being through grants and research under Title X of the Public Health Service Act, found itself in the crosshairs for its history of supporting initiatives tied to gender ideology and abortion access.
Critics have long argued that OPA, especially under the previous administration, shifted focus toward pregnancy prevention and embedded individuals from pro-abortion groups, further fueling the Trump team’s resolve to cut back.
Under the Biden administration, OPA’s direction included overturning rules that barred Title X projects from offering abortion referrals, now mandating such information be provided upon request in most cases.
Planned Parenthood affiliates have raked in millions through Title X funding over the years, while regulations finalized in October 2021 eliminated requirements for parental consent or notification for minors seeking services—a rule Texas successfully challenged in court by 2024.
Adding fuel to the fire, OPA grants have supported groups distributing explicit content and promoting gender ideology to young people, though a July 2025 HHS notice banned using federal funds for such materials in the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.
On October 10, 2025, the administration delivered reduction-in-force notices to most of OPA’s workforce, leaving just a handful of employees to handle legally mandated duties.
The ultimate goal appears even more sweeping, with the Trump administration proposing to scrap OPA entirely in its 2026 budget blueprint, signaling a hard line against what they see as federal overreach into divisive social policies.
“The Office of Population Affairs has long used taxpayer dollars to advance the leftist agenda targeting children and the unborn,” said Republican Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois, encapsulating the frustration of many conservatives who view OPA as a vehicle for progressive ideals rather than neutral health services.
Yet, the plan hit a snag when a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration’s broader efforts to dismiss thousands of federal workers during the shutdown on a Wednesday in October 2025, putting HHS’s staff reductions on hold for now.
Even so, voices like Rep. Miller remain undeterred, with the congresswoman adding, “I applaud the Trump Administration’s efforts to root out far-left programs in the federal government that undermine the very fabric of our country,” a sentiment that resonates with those weary of bureaucratic bloat.
While the legal battle plays out, the clash over OPA underscores a deeper struggle over the role of federal agencies in shaping social policy, leaving many to wonder if this is merely the opening salvo in a larger effort to trim what some see as an overgrown, ideologically driven government apparatus.