California at Risk: Proposed Federal Funding Cuts Jeopardize Key Services

Federal funds have long supported vital public services in California — from health care and food assistance to child care and higher education. These services are now in jeopardy due to threatened federal budget cuts and policy rollbacks, putting the health and well-being of millions of Californians at risk.

President Trump and congressional Republicans are seeking deep cuts to federal funding to help offset the cost of tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. The Trump administration has already tried to cut spending through its unconstitutional funding freeze, which faces legal challenges. Additional spending cuts are being planned in the Republican-controlled Congress for adoption as soon as this spring.

Secure Your Spot!

Join us in Sacramento on April 10, 2025 for engaging sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities with fellow changemakers, inspiring speakers, and much more.

Register Today!

As highlighted in the table below, federal funding reductions could target a broad range of public services and systems, with substantial human and financial impacts at the state and local levels. The funding cuts under consideration would:

• Destabilize California’s state budget. Federal funds make up over one-third of the state budget — totaling $170 billion under current state estimates. Most of these federal dollars support Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program), which provides health coverage to more than 14 million Californians. Republican proposals to slash support for Medicaid could reduce annual federal funding for California by $10-$20 billion or more. Cuts of this magnitude would create a massive budget hole that would force state leaders to make painful spending cuts — cuts that would jeopardize Californians’ access to health care through Medi-Cal as well as threaten other state services and systems.
• Devastate vital services that help vulnerable Californians make ends meet. In addition to the Medicaid program, federal policymakers could target SNAP food assistance (CalFresh in California), cash assistance for older adults and people with disabilities (SSI), housing supports, child care, and other safety net programs that together support millions of Californians. This includes immigrant communities, Californians with disabilities, low-income families with young children, older adults living on fixed incomes, and many more.
• Undermine K-12 schools and higher education. Public education could face cuts to federal grant programs and/or a shift of federal funds to private schools. The Trump administration has already announced billions of dollars in cuts to research institutions across the country, and higher education “remains particularly vulnerable to the consequences” of the federal funding freeze.
• Erode critical funding for California’s local jurisdictions. Counties, cities, and special districts rely on federal funding to support the services that they deliver to their residents. Counties, for example, operate health and safety net programs on behalf of the state, with federal funding making up a large share of the funds that counties receive for this purpose. County officials are particularly concerned about Trump’s unconstitutional funding freeze, which they have called “an evolving situation with potentially significant impacts to funding that counties utilize to serve communities.”

One thing is clear: These Republican-proposed cuts would harm millions of Californians, all to bankroll tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, who are already thriving.

Erik Saucedo contributed to this publication.