Trump shuts down staff helping families pay heating bills

The Trump administration has fired every federal employee responsible for a key $4.1 billion energy assistance program that helps low-income Americans pay heating and cooling bills.

This move leaves the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) without a federal team. The program supports around 6.2 million households annually.

“They fired everybody, there’s nobody left to do anything,” said Mark Wolfe, head of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. “Either this was incredibly sloppy, or they intend to kill the program altogether.”

Entire team locked out

Wolfe said around 25 staffers overseeing the program were among the 10,000 federal workers fired on Monday during a large restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

He added, “There was no warning. Senior employees told me they were locked out of their offices.” The program already distributed about 90% of its 2025 funding—but $378 million remains. That money is meant to help families cool their homes during summer heat waves.

Now, there is no clear way for the money to be disbursed. “If there’s no staff, how do you allocate the rest of this money?” Wolfe asked. “My fear is they’ll say we’ve got this funding, but there’s nobody left to administer it, so we can’t send it out.”

In a statement, HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard said the agency “will continue to comply with statutory requirements” and claimed the reorganisation will “better position” the department to follow congressional intent. But the firings have raised concerns in both parties.

Bipartisan backlash

Thirteen U.S. senators, including Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, sent a letter to Kennedy demanding a reversal of the decision.

“Eliminating the entire federal staff responsible for LIHEAP isn’t reform. It’s sabotage,” said Senator Edward Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts.

Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from rural Maine, said, “What ‘efficiency’ is achieved by firing everyone in Maine whose job is to help Mainers afford heating oil when it’s cold?”

Senator Collins' office also issued a statement: “Senator Collins has been a longtime advocate for LIHEAP... It is unclear how, and if, the administration of this program will be affected by the staffing changes.” States are now unsure whether the remaining federal funds will arrive.

In Connecticut, Peter Hadler, deputy director at the Department of Social Services, said, “Emails bounce back from people we’ve worked with for years, who know this program inside out.” His state is still owed $8 million.

In Minnesota, where it snowed this week, officials say they may run out of money by mid-April. “Winter is still happening in Minnesota,” said Pete Wyckoff, deputy commissioner for energy resources. “We do need that extra money to get through the rest of the season.”

The state was expecting $12–13 million to help more than 10,000 households.

A 2024 study in The Economic Journal found that 17% of U.S. households spend more than 10% of their income on energy—considered a “severe energy burden.”

“When home heating is less affordable, more people die each winter,” said Seema Jayachandran, a Princeton economist and co-author of the study. “Without LIHEAP, the effect would presumably be much larger.”

LIHEAP began in 1981 and has had bipartisan support for decades. It helps cover heating fuel, electricity, air conditioning, weatherisation, and emergency utility aid. Now, with no federal staff to run it, its future remains uncertain—even though Congress approved the funding.

Wolfe asked the central question: “We’ve got the money. But who’s left to send it out?”

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