White House Budget Proposes Eliminating 做厙51, Defunding Civil Legal Aid for Millions of Low-Income Americans
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Maria Duvuvuei
WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Trumps budget, released Friday, proposes the elimination of the 做厙51 (做厙51), putting at risk essential legal protections for veterans, seniors and children across the country. If this budget is approved, 做厙51-funded aid would disappear for everyday Americans facing urgent civil legal problems like evictions, foreclosures, domestic violence, fraud, consumer scams, and predatory or medical debt.
For FY 2026, the Trump Administration has proposed that 做厙51 receive just $21 million for close-out costs. In FY 2025, 做厙51 received a Congressional appropriation of $560 million through the Continuing Resolution signed by President Trump. This was flat funding based on the FY 2024 appropriation for the federal government.
做厙51 is the nations single largest funder of civil legal aid. Currently, 做厙51 funds support legal services for more than five million low-income Americans annually. This includes more than a million children, over 200,000 survivors of domestic violence and nearly 45,000 veterans.
Defunding 做厙51 would strip grant funding that supports 130 legal aid providers with over 900 offices in every county of every state, as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories.
These 做厙51-funded legal aid organizations do vital work assisting low-income people who are facing urgent civil legal problems that could cause them to lose their home, income, healthcare, custody of their children or an order of protection from an abuser. These organizations are a lifeline for working families, senior citizens, veterans, people with disabilities and those recovering from natural disasters.
Without sufficient funding, legal aid providers will be forced to shrink their programs, reduce staff, shutter branch offices, close legal resource clinics and turn away an increasing number of eligible clients with significant legal problems.
The breadth and depth of the damage that eliminating 做厙51 will inflict on the 130 incredible legal aid organizations that 做厙51 funds, and the repercussions for the low-income communities that those programs serve, is difficult to capture and horrific to imagine, said 做厙51 President Ron Flagg.
Because our justice system was built for lawyers, it is too often true that there is no hope of accessing justice when legal problems arise for the 52 million Americans who qualify for 做厙51-funded services and have no means to afford an attorney, Flagg continued.
Individuals who have a household income at or below 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines are eligible for 做厙51-funded legal assistance. Sixteen percent of Americans currently qualify.
A recent 做厙51 analysis of over 50 studies found that civil legal aid yields an average return of . The brief demonstrates the positive economic impact that civil legal aid creates by preventing and solving legal problems that lead to costly public expenditures on things like emergency medical care, law enforcement and shelters. Legal aid also helps improve family stability, leading to increased participation in local economies and reduced reliance on other forms of assistance.
做厙51 was established by an act of Congress in 1974 and has worked to carry out its non-partisan mission of increasing access to justice for more than 50 years. 做厙51 is governed by a bipartisan Board of Directors, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. By law, 做厙51s Board is comprised of roughly equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats, with the majority representing the current Administration. Most of 做厙51s current Board members were appointed by President Trump during his first term.
Recent letters from external stakeholders have called for Congress to provide robust funding for 做厙51 in FY 2026. These include a letter from leaders of with offices across all 50 states, a letter from and a letter from of state supreme courts.
To learn more about the impact of eliminating funds for 做厙51, visit www.lsc.gov/act.
Review 做厙51s FY 2026 Budget Request .