The Trump administration plans to end the LGBTQ-specific option on the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, effective July 17th. The “Press 3” feature, which connected callers under 25 with counselors trained in LGBTQ issues, will be removed to “focus on serving all help seekers,” according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
SAMHSA said it “will no longer silo LGB+ youth services,” omitting the “T” and drawing sharp criticism. The Trevor Project, originally the sole contractor for the program, became one of seven partners in a subnetwork serving over 1.3 million LGBTQ youth.
Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black called the move “devastating,” stating: “Suicide prevention is about people, not politics.” He also condemned the timing and messaging: “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+’… Transgender people can never, and will never, be erased.”
SAMHSA maintains that help is still available through the general 988 hotline. “Everyone who contacts the 988 Lifeline will continue to receive access to skilled, caring, culturally competent crisis counselors,” it said.
White House Office of Management and Budget spokesperson Rachel Cauley defended the 2026 budget cut: “Taxpayer money” shouldn’t fund “a chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology… without consent or knowledge of their parents.”
Black urged Congress to step in and reassured youth: “You are worthy, you are loved, and you belong.”
