Since returning to office, the Trump administration has significantly reduced federal efforts aimed at preventing gun violence, sharply cutting funding for related programs and research while also limiting the dissemination of reports designed to reduce gun-related injuries and deaths. This policy shift marks a move away from a public health framework focused on prevention toward a law enforcement-centered approach emphasizing increased police funding, the seizure of illegal firearms, and the rollback of firearms regulations.

The administration’s realignment reflects President Trump’s longstanding alliance with gun rights organizations and his intent to reverse many of the firearm policies enacted during the Biden administration. Shortly after taking office, President Trump disbanded the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, initiated reviews of Biden-era gun policies, and issued an executive order aimed at protecting Second Amendment rights. Additionally, the Justice Department’s civil rights division has initiated unprecedented litigation to challenge gun restrictions in Virginia and California, marking its first affirmative legal action to expand gun ownership rights.

Despite these actions, the cuts have drawn concern from violence prevention experts, who note the irony in reducing support for such efforts given Trump’s personal experience with gun violence, including surviving multiple assassination attempts. Amy Solomon, a former Justice Department official who oversaw a community violence prevention initiative during the Biden administration, said funding for that program has been cut by $150 million, with much of the money redirected toward law enforcement. She added that many organizations providing direct prevention services have been forced to reduce staff, cut programs, or close entirely.

Officials from the White House and federal agencies defended the changes, asserting that the administration has improved public safety while eliminating programs deemed ineffective or wasteful. A White House spokeswoman cited a decline in violent crime rates in 2025, referencing an analysis of 40 cities indicating a drop in murders and overall violence compared to pre-pandemic levels.

However, advocates for prevention programs argue that the decline in violent crime predates the current administration and that evidence supports the effectiveness of hospital-based violence intervention programs, which work to reduce retaliatory violence, often concentrated in high-crime urban areas. Fatimah Loren Dreier, head of one such organization, noted the impacts of these programs in cities like Baltimore and Chicago.

Other federal programs focused on preventing targeted violence and terrorism have also been curtailed. The Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, which awarded its last grants in September 2024 and supported a wide range of local interventions, lost significant funding and leadership as the administration labeled it a "cash cow for radical activists."

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported a shift in priorities resulting in nearly 50,000 firearms seized from criminals since January 2025. Still, experts note that the majority of gun-related deaths in the United States—approximately 60 percent—are suicides, a category less likely to be prevented by increased law enforcement presence.

Public health experts continue to frame gun violence as a preventable problem akin to an infectious disease, with research and prevention efforts dating back decades. Federal funding for gun violence research, which had been largely stymied since the 1990s, resumed on a limited basis under the Biden administration, but the Trump administration has not authorized new grants beyond existing commitments.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose family history includes political assassinations, has publicly stated that he views gun violence primarily as a law enforcement issue rather than a public health crisis. Under his leadership, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Violence Prevention has suffered layoffs, diminishing its capacity to conduct research or develop community intervention strategies.

Beyond funding cuts, the administration has removed previously published reports related to gun violence prevention from public access. A 2022 Department of Health and Human Services report on extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs)—laws that allow courts to temporarily remove firearms from individuals deemed dangerous—disappeared from the agency’s website shortly after President Trump took office, though it remains available through a nonprofit. The administration also withdrew a surgeon general’s advisory declaring firearm violence a public health crisis.

Officials have declined to comment on the removal of these documents but emphasize continued compliance with executive orders protecting Second Amendment rights alongside claims of supporting firearm injury prevention. Meanwhile, advocates maintain that reducing funding and suppressing research hampers efforts to address one of the nation’s most persistent public health challenges.