From Disability Scoop — By Michelle Diament —
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he wants to get to the bottom of surging autism rates, but a new analysis finds that the Trump administration has cut funding for such research by double digits.
National Institutes of Health spending on autism research between January and April was down roughly $31 million compared to the same period last year, according to a Reuters review of federal data.
That represents a 26% drop from the average spending during that period over the last four years, the news service said.
The spending cuts come as the Trump administration has put renewed emphasis on autism while signaling a broad shift in priorities.
Under Kennedy, the Department of Health and Human Services has announced plans for a $50 million investment into the causes of autism and a large study looking at the long-discredited connection between autism and vaccines. More recently, the agency said it will use data on Medicare and Medicaid enrollees with autism to create a “real-world data platform” to allow research across claims, electronic medical records and consumer wearables.
“HHS remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing our understanding of autism spectrum disorder,” according to an agency spokesperson. “Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, we are focusing on research to identify the causes of autism, and we will continue our efforts until we have a complete understanding.”
While testifying before a Senate committee last month, Kennedy dismissed the importance of looking at genetics, which has been a major focus of autism research in recent years.
“I don’t think we should be funding that genetic work anymore. I think we know a lot about the genes that provide vulnerabilities,” Kennedy said. “What we really need to do now is to find the environmental toxins.”
Kennedy said in April that he would know the cause of what he calls the “autism epidemic” by September, but more recently he walked back that deadline saying that he would only have “some” information by then.
“To get the most solid information, it will probably take us another six months,” Kennedy told CNN, extending the timeline to roughly March 2026. At that point, he told the network “I expect we will know the answers of the etiology of autism.”
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