In a move that’s already drawing fierce backlash, the Trump administration has ordered an end to federal funding for a key suicide prevention hotline aimed at supporting LGBTQ youth, claiming the service promotes what it calls “radical gender ideology.” The hotline, operated by The Trevor Project, will be forced to shut down within 30 days.
The White House confirmed that while funding for the general 988 Lifeline—a broader suicide hotline—will continue, the administration refuses to fund “a chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology by ‘counselors’ without consent or knowledge of their parents,” according to a spokesperson from the Office of Management and Budget.
Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black didn’t mince words. “I am devastated and heartbroken,” Black wrote in a public statement, adding that the nonprofit had received formal notice of the cutoff. “The administration is eliminating a critical, life-saving resource that was part of this nation’s public health infrastructure.” Since its launch in 2022, the LGBTQ-specific hotline has fielded over 1.3 million contacts from young people in crisis.
A Political Flashpoint, A Life-or-Death Toll
This decision isn’t happening in a vacuum. Since returning to office in January, Trump has wasted no time issuing executive orders rolling back transgender protections, dismantling diversity and equity programs, and restricting federal support for gender-affirming care. While the administration claims these moves restore fairness, critics say they are systematically erasing already-vulnerable communities from public support systems.
Mental health experts and LGBTQ advocates argue that this is not merely a budget line item—it’s a death sentence for many queer youth. LGBTQ teens are already at disproportionately high risk for suicide, and The Trevor Project has long been a lifeline for those with nowhere else to turn. Removing specialized services sends a clear signal: these lives don’t matter to the administration.
“This country has failed our LGBTQ+ young people,” said Black. “We are telling them they are unworthy of care, of protection, and of life-saving support.”
The Community Impact: Silence is Not Neutral
Let’s be clear—when a government pulls support from a resource that literally saves lives, it’s not just policy; it’s a statement. LGBTQ youth aren’t optional demographics—they are citizens. Vulnerable ones. Targeted ones. And now, abandoned ones.
The general 988 Lifeline, while essential, is not equipped to address the specific needs and traumas facing queer and trans youth. Trained counselors at The Trevor Project offered culturally competent, affirming support—something that can’t be replicated with a one-size-fits-all model.
At a time when hate crimes are rising, anti-trans legislation is spreading like wildfire, and school boards are banning pride flags and queer books, the disappearance of this hotline is more than just a quiet bureaucratic decision. It’s a calculated erasure. And it places thousands of LGBTQ lives in jeopardy.
If this administration is choosing to put ideology over the lives of queer youth, it’s up to the rest of us to say: not on our watch.