Trump’s Funding Freeze Undermines Efforts to Combat Fentanyl TraFFICKING
Donald Trump implemented a series of costly tariffs on goods imported from Canada, Mexico, and China – purportedly meant to pressure those nations into stepping up their anti-drug efforts. But Trump’s blustering and expensive trade war actually undermines U.S. counternarcotics work with key countries. And his decision to pause most U.S. foreign aid has halted critical programs to counter fentanyl production and trafficking in Mexico, China, and India.
National Security Action recommends that our community use every opportunity to point out these contradictory efforts to remind the American people that Trump’s chaotic leadership is ineffective and dangerous.
Talking Points:
Earlier this month, Donald Trump launched a costly trade war, using fentanyl as the justification to impose significant tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.
For the past several years, the United States has made critical advances in building an international coalition to target the production and trafficking of deadly fentanyl all around the world. But Trump’s actions threaten to undo that progress and permanently undermine counternarcotics cooperation with China, Mexico, and Canada.
Worse yet, his actions to dismantle the government have actually made this crisis worse, putting American lives at risk:
Trump has slashed U.S. funding for programs that stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States – including programs to intercept drugs at our borders and efforts to prosecute the dangerous criminals producing this deadly chemical overseas.
Trump announced a plan to stop enforcing a corporate transparency law that “threatens to undermine the fight against fentanyl by strengthening the veil behind which Mexican drug cartels and Chinese financiers engage in the drug trade.”
Trump and Congressional Republicans have signaled cuts to Medicaid funding, the largest provider of substance abuse treatment in the country, which helps pay for medications for opioid use disorder and inpatient treatment centers. These are the services that Americans depend on to overcome addiction, especially in rural and underserved communities.
Trump and his allies are also eyeing cuts to federal programs like the State Opioid Response grants, which pay for critical prevention and treatment services. These programs fund vital services and supports like naloxone access, addiction treatment, and recovery efforts.
In Trump’s first term, the Government Accountability Office issued a scathing report blasting him for failing to come up with a coherent national opioid strategy as required by law.
Trump’s first term budget slashed funding for the office in charge of drug control (ONDCP) by 95 percent – undermining critical international and domestic anti-drug efforts.
During his first term, Trump’s erratic, ineffective leadership allowed opioid-related overdose deaths to skyrocket – with an overdose death occurring every hour. That death rate was nearly double what the United States experienced in the four years prior. Data show his Administration’s policies accelerated drug trafficker shifts to fentanyl in the first place.
Tackling the overdose epidemic requires a serious and comprehensive response. But President Trump’s chaotic leadership and reckless approach is doing the opposite, making us less safe with each passing day.
Trump’s Fentanyl Failures – Foreign Aid Freeze:
Trump’s foreign aid freeze has directly undermined America’s fight against fentanyl:
Mexico – Border Security Programs: Trump’s foreign assistance freeze weakened our last line of defense to stop fentanyl outside our borders and before it arrives in our ports. Trump’s actions:
Stopped funding to train Mexican customs authorities and security forces working at the U.S.-Mexico border so that they can better detect and deter fentanyl before it enters the United States.
Froze funding used to purchase the scanners and other equipment needed to find illicit fentanyl and safely intercept it before it comes into our country and kills our citizens.
Mexico – Port Security Programs: Trump has prevented the United States from empowering Mexican authorities to detect and seize precursor chemicals in their own countries before they reach our borders. Trump’s efforts:
Paused programs to supply and train Mexican authorities with sophisticated equipment needed to interdict precursor chemicals from China as they arrive at Mexico’s seaports and airports.
Mexico – Attorney General Assistance: President Trump’s shortsighted funding freeze made it more likely that cartels will continue to operate with impunity in various parts of Mexico and remain free to produce more of the deadly fentanyl that’s plaguing our communities. Specifically, Trump’s freeze:
Cut off crucial assistance to the Mexican prosecutors responsible for targeting, investigating, prosecuting, and dismantling the dangerous criminal groups that produce illicit fentanyl and traffic it into the United States.
Froze programs for U.S. law enforcement to cooperate with Mexican authorities to build the complex legal cases needed to take down the cartels.
China - Prosecuting Traffickers: Trump is undermining efforts for U.S. law enforcement to work with partners in foreign countries who have the jurisdiction and capability to target dangerous criminals. Specifically, Trump’s actions:
Halted funding for a legal advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to build criminal cases against companies and individuals in China that are involved in the illicit sale of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.
India - Controlling Fentanyl Precursors: Amid increased scrutiny of Chinese chemical companies shipping the precursor chemicals used to produce illicit fentanyl, transnational criminal organizations have started to turn to Indian chemical companies. America is aware of this change, but Trump’s funding freeze:
Halted cooperation with government authorities in India to assist with regulatory controls on those precursor chemicals and to aid the development of rules for Indian companies that would prevent the sale of fentanyl precursors to the cartels.
Trump’s Fentanyl Failures – 2017-2021:
While in Office, Trump Did Not Have a Plan to Address the Fentanyl Crisis and Tried to Slash the Budget for Drug Addiction Efforts
The Trump Administration never had a plan to address the increase in fentanyl overdoses. While Trump was in office, the Government Accountability Office issued a report blasting his Administration for failing to come up with a coherent national drug control strategy as required by law.
The Trump Administration budget included dramatic cuts in funding for the office dedicated to addressing American drug policy. His White House issued a budget slashed funding for the ONDCP by 95 percent.
Meanwhile, Opioid Deaths Soared during the Trump Administration, while Patchwork Diplomacy and an Obsession with “the Wall” Hampered Efforts to Secure Our Borders
Synthetic opioid overdose deaths rose by 192 percent during Trump’s presidency, including an alarming 51 percent jump in fentanyl-related deaths between 2019 and 2020. Data show that his Administration’s policies accelerated drug traffickers’ shift to fentanyl.
Trump campaigned heavily on promises to “build the wall” but once in office, his plan proved to be as foolish as it was xenophobic. Customs and Border Protection data indicates that the majority of illicit drug substances are smuggled into the United States through legitimate ports of entry rather than through illegal border crossings – rendering Trump’s obsession with his border wall deeply ineffective.
Trump Worsened Tensions with China And Undermined Opportunities to Cooperate on Slowing Fentanyl Production
In contrast, Trump was ineffective at diplomacy. Rather than holding China’s feet to the fire, he praised the autocratic tendencies of the Chinese leadership. Later, when his personal dealmaking failed, he turned instead to hostile rhetoric that achieved nothing, including on fentanyl – but served to heighten tensions and increase the risk of conflict.
Published: March 2025