By Sarah N. Lynch and Peter Eisler
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department is terminating grants totaling $811 million for a wide range of services to crime victims, including trauma recovery centers and sign language interpretation, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The grants were worth $811 million when awarded, a total reported exclusively by Reuters. It was not immediately clear, however, how much of this funding remained unspent when the cuts occurred.
Reuters previously reported that a total of 365 competitive ongoing grants offered by the Office of Justice Programs were cut. The grants are typically paid out over three years.
In fiscal year 2024, the Office of Justice Programs was approved to award approximately $3 billion in competitive grants.
A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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 that 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 that services for victims are not impacted.”
Following a Reuters report on funding cuts to a program for pet-friendly domestic violence shelters, the department 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,” wrote Deputy Assistant Attorney General Maureen Henneberg in an email seen by Reuters that was sent on Wednesday night to the group, rescinding the termination of the grant.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Peter Eisler; Editing by Scott Malone and Lisa Shumaker)
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