US justice dept grant cuts valued at $811m, people and records say

The US justice department is terminating $811m (R15.2bn) in grants, including some impacting victim service programmes ranging from trauma centres and sign language interpretation for domestic violence victims to police training, according to internal documents and two sources.

The 365 competitive grants being terminated were valued at $811m when awarded, a total reported exclusively by Reuters. The grants are typically paid out over three years, though it remains unclear how much money was left unspent at the time of the cuts.

The cuts affect awards managed by the office of justice programmes. As a measure of scope, the office received approval to award roughly $3bn (R56.4bn) in total competitive grants in the 2024 fiscal year.

After Reuters highlighted some of the cuts on Thursday, a justice department official said seven of the victim services grants were being restored.

"We are confident the cuts are consistent with the administration's priorities while at the same time protecting services that tangibly impact victims," a department official said.

Among those restored included a grant to the national centre for victims of crime to fund crime victim hotlines, and a grant to the national network to end domestic violence, the official said.

US President Donald Trump's administration is engaged in a wide-ranging campaign to slash the federal government that is taking particular aim at policies he opposes, including those that promote diversity, equity and inclusion and refugee resettlement. Accounts from federal workers and experts depict the effort as chaotic at times, with agencies in some cases laying off workers they then need to rehire.

The justice department told Reuters on Wednesday it was discerning in how it selected which grants to cut, with attorney general Pam Bondi saying it would "continue to ensure services for victims are not impacted".

After a Reuters report on Wednesday that referenced funding cuts to a programme for pet-friendly domestic violence shelters, the department separately restored aid for some recipients. These included one of the only Connecticut providers accepting pets across all its shelters, along with a service provider in Maryland.

"Attorney general Bondi personally extends her appreciation to the Maryland network against domestic violence for its steadfast commitment to domestic violence survivors and the professionals who support them," deputy assistant attorney general Maureen Henneberg wrote in an email seen by Reuters that was sent on Wednesday night to the group, rescinding the termination of the grant.

A review of the cuts to grant programmes from the office for victims of crime shows  many provided a mix of direct and indirect assistance for domestic violence and trafficking victims.

Activating Change, a nonprofit that supports domestic violence victims with disabilities, lost five federal grants totaling more than $2m (R37.6m), said executive director Nancy Smith.

One of those paid for American sign language interpretation services for domestic violence victims, while another trains police on how to investigate trafficking crimes against people with disabilities.

Another recipient that lost funding is the central Iowa trauma recovery centre, which received support from Republican senator Charles Grassley.

Other types of canceled grants funded programmes from criminal justice research to efforts to help reduce recidivism and support people after they leave prison.

A justice department official said on Thursday night the grant to the Iowa-based trauma recovery centre was being restored, but the department would not restore the grants to Activating Change because of its affiliation with the Vera Institute of Justice.

The Vera Institute of Justice, an independent nonprofit, was recently targeted by billionaire Elon Musk's department of government efficiency as part of its cost-cutting effort.

"The justice department's reckless cuts to their federal grants endanger the victims' safety," the Vera Institute of Justice told Reuters in a statement.

"It is unconscionable that this administration would put partisan politics over the wellbeing of victims of crime," the group said.

Smith said in a statement that terminating her group's grants represented a "political act".

"This punishes deaf and disabled survivors, silences marginalised voices, and dismantles vital support for those facing the greatest barriers to safety and healing," she said.

Of the $811m in total cuts, about $71m (R1.3bn) comes from grants offered by the office for victims of crime, according to a spreadsheet of the grants seen by Reuters.

The justice department cut roughly $535m (R10bn) to programmes from the bureau of justice assistance, which funds programmes to support many local police departments and correctional facilities, the data shows.

The federal agency cut about $136m (R2.5bn) from the office of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, and terminated nearly $59m (R1.1bn) in research grants funded by the national institute of justice.

Reuters