Health Resources and Services Administration, as part of the larger HHS restructuring effort aligned with Trump’s executive order, faces mass layoffs and cuts in DEI spending. This move is intended to streamline operations and reduce costs but adversely affects worker rights and the agency's capacity to serve underserved populations.

On March 27, 2025, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced extensive workforce cuts and a major reorganization within HHS. The restructuring, which includes eliminating thousands of positions and consolidating offices, is expected to undermine the capacity of agencies such as HRSA to serve medically underserved populations.

In June 2024 at the American Transplant Congress, HRSA officials demanded the removal of six research abstracts and warned Arbor Research that continued work on an unbiased OPO performance metric would result in barring from future federal contracts. This move is viewed as a heavy-handed act of censorship aimed at suppressing critical analysis of CMS’s flawed rule under political pressure.

In June 2024, HRSA withdrew approval for six abstracts scheduled for presentation at the American Transplant Congress, effectively canceling peer-reviewed research that questioned CMS policies. The decision, justified as a measure to ensure the use of taxpayer dollars is aligned with 'sound and defensible policy,' has been criticized as politically motivated censorship intended to suppress dissenting scientific evidence.

HRSA has supported a report outlining guidelines for mitigating forced labor risks in healthcare supply chains. The report, endorsed by leading public health agencies, recommends embedding due diligence and risk mapping measures to identify and reduce forced labor risks in both purchased goods and services.

HRSA's recent guidance for the Regional Public Health Training Center Program mandates that each training region establish a leadership institute. These institutes are intended to provide training in health policy, advocacy, and political navigation to help local health officials better respond to harassment, politicization, and other challenges, ultimately bolstering public health protections against authoritarian backlash.