Cuts by the Trump administration to a federal program that helps thousands of Washington’s most vulnerable residents stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer have left local agencies worried about its future.
The Trump administration laid off the entire staff of the $4.1 billion Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program that helps millions of low-income households nationwide afford utility bills, repair broken furnaces, purchase air conditioners and more. The workers were among the 10,000 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services employees laid off as part of the administration’s dramatic restructuring of the federal government.
In Washington, social service agencies, anti-poverty groups and federal lawmakers raised the alarm over the federal agency’s overhaul, and warned the layoffs could hamper efforts to support low-income families and seniors.
“Even a brief delay could ruin the finances of working families who are hanging on by a thread if this money doesn’t get out — and leave seniors stranded in deadly heat waves this summer,” Sen. Patty Murray said in a statement last week.
In the past year, LIHEAP provided bill assistance to nearly 223,000 people in Washington, according to the Washington State Community Action Partnership, an organization that represents local agencies overseeing energy assistance programs.
That money helped more than 15,800 households avoid power disconnections and nearly 2,800 homes restore power in Washington last year, according to the state Department of Commerce.
The state was awarded more than $56.3 million this federal fiscal year, which runs from October 2024 to September 2025, and has received 90% of that funding, according to department spokesperson Amelia Lamb.
But the federal government has yet to deliver the remaining 10% to states, including an estimated more than $5.6 million for Washington. Without any federal LIHEAP workers, some wonder how and if the state will get the rest of that money.
The state had expected the money this month, and “will continue to work with HHS colleagues” to release the remaining aid, Lamb said in an email.
“Right now, that last final 10% of funding is what we’re most concerned about, and any potential delays in receiving that funding,” said Multi-Service Center chief operating officer Amanda Santo, whose organization distributes LIHEAP funds and money from Puget Sound Energy’s Home Energy Lifeline Program.
Multi-Service Center provided energy relief to about 9,200 South King County households during the last fiscal year, she said. By her estimate, Santo said about 900 households might not receive energy assistance through her organization that otherwise would have this year if the federal government fails to deliver the remaining money.
Meanwhile, some local agencies fear the program may be scrapped entirely. As Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration eye significant cuts to major safety-net programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, money for services such as deliveries for food banks and schools have already been slashed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Every program feels like it’s on the chopping block,” Santo said. “That is a concern, that the LIHEAP program is among those programs that are going to be targeted for potential cuts.”
The firing of LIHEAP staff is a “gut punch” said Cade Schmidt with Hopelink, which delivered $1.4 million in LIHEAP energy assistance to more than 4,500 residents in north and east King County.
Low-income households put far more of their income toward utility bills than wealthier peers. For struggling families with young children and people on fixed incomes like those with disabilities and older adults, the federal energy assistance program has been a lifeline.
“It removes the burden of needing to choose between staying housed or going without power or going without food,” Schmidt said.
In Washington, the average LIHEAP recipient lives on $1,349 per month, according to the Washington State Community Action Partnership. To qualify for the federal energy assistance program, households must be at or below 150% of the federal poverty line, or $46,800 for a family of four.
In general, the need for utility bill relief and other energy assistance in Washington outweighs existing state and federal resources.
Nearly 1.4 million Washington residents, about 31%, cut back on spending for basic necessities such as food and medicine in order to pay an energy bill, according to October 2024 U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
About 972,000 are estimated to have kept their home at a temperature that felt unsafe or unhealthy for at least one month, with more than 275,000 doing so almost every month.
