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Trump signs order launching new initiative to address drug addiction

By
Aaron Navarro
Aaron Navarro
Digital Reporter
Aaron Navarro is a CBS News digital reporter. He covered the 2024 elections and was previously an associate producer for the CBS News political unit in the 2021 and 2022 election cycles.
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Aaron Navarro

/ CBS News

Washington — President Trump signed Thursday evening to coordinate a federal government response to drug addiction and substance abuse.

According to a White House fact sheet, the order will create a "White House Great American Recovery Initiative," which will advise federal agencies on directing grants to support addiction recovery and aim to increase awareness about drug addiction. The group will advise agencies on how to integrate programs on drug prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery support and re-entry. 

"There's nothing more important than what we're doing right now, in my opinion," the president said at the signing ceremony in the Oval Office. "Today, I'm signing a historic executive order to combat the scourge of addiction and substance abuse — big deal in this country and probably in every country. We're calling it the Great American Recovery Initiative."

The initiative will be chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kathryn Burgum, both of whom joined Mr. Trump for the ceremony. Kathryn Burgum, who is married to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, struggled with alcoholism before becoming sober 22 years ago and is a vocal advocate for addiction recovery. 

CBS News was first to report on the initiative. 

Federal funding for drug recovery is driven by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA. Earlier this month, the Trump administration reversed course on plans to cut about $2 billion in mental health and addiction treatment programs for SAMHSA.

In 2024, more than 74% of adults who perceived they had a problem with drugs or alcohol considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered, according to the latest SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The White House cited figures showing that among the 40.7 million adults with a substance abuse disorder in 2024 who did not receive treatment, 95.6% did not recognize they needed it.

The new initiative follows an aggressive campaign from the White House to target and strike alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

Jennifer Jacobs contributed to this report.

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