The Trump administration has announced the termination of federal funding for the national LGBTQ+ youth suicide prevention hotline, with the service set to shut down within 30 days, effective July 17, 2025.

The specialized hotline, operated in partnership with The Trevor Project, was launched in 2022 as part of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, offering LGBTQ+ youth the option to connect with counselors trained to address their unique challenges. Since its inception, the service has supported over 1.3 million young people, handling an average of 2,100 crisis contacts per day in recent months.

LGBTQ+ youth are statistically at a higher risk for suicide, with recent surveys indicating that nearly 40% of LGBTQ+ young people have considered suicide in the past year, and rates are even higher among transgender and nonbinary youth.

A spokesperson from the White House Office of Management and Budget stated that while funding for the broader 988 Lifeline will remain at $520 million, the administration will no longer support a chat service that, in their view, encourages “radical gender ideology” without parental consent. The administration claims that all callers to 988 will continue to receive access to skilled crisis counselors, but the specialized “Press 3” option for LGBTQ+ youth will be eliminated.

“This is devastating, to say the least,” The Trevor Project wrote in a statement. “Suicide prevention is about people, not politics. The administration’s decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible. The fact that this news comes to us halfway through Pride Month is callous – as is the administration’s choice to remove the ‘T’ from the acronym ‘LGBTQ+’ in their announcement. Transgender people can never, and will never, be erased.

“Congress can still act to reverse this fatal decision. We are asking everyone to join the overwhelming public support for evidence-based crisis services, and urge Congress to act. Learn more by visiting TheTrevorProject.org/ActNow.”