Kentucky programs at risk amid DOGE’s efficiency agenda cuts

This collection of stories covers the impact of recent federal budget cuts on health, safety, education and culture in Kentucky communities.

Among the takeaways:

- Potential closure of black lung screening offices and mine safety inspections. - Cuts to Medicaid threatening hospital viability and maternal health care. - Reduction of National Weather Service and Department of Education staff in Kentucky. - Loss of federal funding for the Kentucky Humanities Council and cultural initiatives.

Read the stories below.

A mother bottle feeds her baby in this stock image from Getty Images. By SolStock

NO. 1: POTENTIAL CUTS TO MEDICAID THREATEN KENTUCKY’S MOTHERS AND THEIR FAMILIES | OPINION

OpEd: Given that Kentucky has one of the highest rates of maternal death in the country, we cannot afford to cut Medicaid coverage in our state. | Published March 17, 2025 | Read Full Story by Melissa Eggen

An exterior shot of the Kentucky Department of Education at 300 Sower Boulevard in Frankfort, Kentucky, on February 7, 2025. By Tasha Poullard

NO. 2: ABOUT 50% OF US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION EMPLOYEES CUT. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR KENTUCKY?

U.S. Department of Education workforce cuts will present challenges in ‘critical areas,’ Kentucky’s top education official said. | Published March 12, 2025 | Read Full Story by Valarie Honeycutt Spears

Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman during a LGBTQ rally in the rotunda at the Kentucky state Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. By Ryan C. Hermens

NO. 3: LT. GOV. COLEMAN: DISMANTLING THE US DEPT. OF EDUCATION WILL HARM KY STUDENTS ‘IRREPARABLY’

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman said on Wednesday that “states like Kentucky will suffer the most” if the U.S. Department of Education is dismantled, as President Donald Trump has vowed to do. | Published March 20, 2025 | Read Full Story by Alex Acquisto

The Lee County Coroner’s Office, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2025, in downtown Beattyville, Ky. is flooded with several feet of water after severe overnight rain hit the Eastern Kentucky town, leaving many parts of the town flooded. By Brian Simms

NO. 4: FEDERAL CUTS TO MEDICAID COULD HURT A HEALTH CARE LIFELINE IN EASTERN KENTUCKY | OPINION

For Eastern Kentucky, Medicaid isn’t just a program—it’s a lifeboat. Slashing it in the name of cost-savings might yield short-term wins but unravels the well-being of some of America’s most vulnerable communities | Published March 31, 2025 | Read Full Story by Soham Apte and James Vithoulkas

Authors Wendell Berry and Bobbie Ann Mason laughed while chatting at the 2017 Kentucky Book Fair in Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. Both authors are scheduled to be at this years event. By Matt Goins

NO. 5: LEXINGTON-BASED KY HUMANITIES LOSES 70% OF ANNUAL BUDGET DUE TO DOGE CUTS

Kentucky Humanities is one of 56 humanities councils across the country that will lose cultural programming funding. | Published April 4, 2025 | Read Full Story by Beth Musgrave

A display case at NIOSH shows a normal lung and a diseased black lung, caused by inhaling coal dust and other harmful particles while coal mining. By Howard Berkes

NO. 6: MUSK/TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO CUT MINE SAFETY OFFICES, TESTING FOR BLACK LUNG | OPINION

OpEd: Kentucky residents who care about the welfare of working miners should ask Congressman Hal Rogers what he plans to do to keep regional MSHA offices open, and to keep miners safe. | Published April 17, 2025 | Read Full Story by Willie Dodson

NO. 7: KENTUCKY IS MAKING PROGRESS AGAINST OPIOID CRISIS. FEDERAL CUTS COULD UNDO IT | OPINION

OpEd: Cutting essential recovery infrastructure is not a pathway to economic stability. | Published May 15, 2025 | Read Full Story by Tara Hyde and Van Ingram

Some Kentucky lawmakers want stricter eligibilty rules for anti-poverty programs like food stamps and Medicaid. By El Nuevo Herald

NO. 8: TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ WOULD HURT KENTUCKIANS TO FUND TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY | OPINION

OpEd: Taken as a whole, the House plan to cut Medicaid and SNAP benefits is a recipe for greater hardship and the redistribution of wealth from hard-working Kentuckians and their kids to the pockets of the richest people in our country. | Published May 15, 2025 | Read Full Story by Dustin Pugel

A damaged home on Cedar Ridge Drive in the Crooked Creek neighborhood east of London, Ky., Sunday, May 18, 2025. Two days earlier, thunderstorms and a deadly tornado ripped through the Laurel County, destroying many homes. By Brian Simms

NO. 9: KY’S CONGRESSMEN ON CUTS TO THE STATE’S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES

“As Chairman of the (subcommittee) that funds the National Weather Service, I will work to ensure that our weather offices have the funding and staff necessary to keep our people safe,” Rep. Hal Rogers wrote in a statement. | Published May 20, 2025 | Read Full Story by Beth Musgrave Austin Horn

U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Sumerset, speaks during a press conference and opening of the first AppHarvest greenhouse facility in Morehead, Ky., Wednesday, October 21, 2020. By Silas Walker

NO. 10: HOW DID YOUR KY CONGRESSMAN VOTE ON TRUMP-BACKED BILL CUTTING MEDICAID SPENDING?

One Eastern Kentucky detractor called Rep. Hal Rogers’ yes vote “almost an act of treason to the vulnerable people in our area.” | Published May 22, 2025 | Read Full Story by Austin Horn

Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, both Democrats, were joined by staff and patients at Planned Parenthood Monday, June 2 to talk about the impact of the federal bill to slash Medicaid funding. By Alex Acquisto

NO. 11: ADVOCATES SAY KY WOMEN WILL ‘BEAR THE BRUNT’ OF MEDICAID CUTS IN ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey said Monday rural Kentucky women will be especially impacted under bill slashing Medicaid funding. | Published June 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Alex Acquisto

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.