President Donald J. Trump Launches the Great American Recovery Initiative to Address the Addiction Crisis – The White House

LAUNCHING THE GREAT AMERICAN RECOVERY INITIATIVE: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order creating the White House Great American Recovery Initiative to coordinate a national response to the disease of addiction across government, healthcare, faith communities, and the private sector in order to save lives, restore families, strengthen our communities, and build the Great American Recovery.

• The Order establishes the Initiative, co-chaired by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Senior Advisor for Addiction Recovery.
  • Additional members of the Initiative include an executive director, cabinet secretaries, and senior administration leaders, some with deeply personal ties to the addiction crisis who are committed to ensuring Americans get the help they need.
• The Order directs the Initiative to:
  • Recommend all necessary steps to coordinate the Federal Government’s response to the addiction crisis, including by better aligning relevant Federal programs, setting clear objectives, and providing data-driven updates to the public on progress towards meeting these objectives;
  • Take appropriate actions to increase awareness of the disease of addiction, help Americans receive the treatment they need, and foster a culture that celebrates recovery;
  • Advise agencies on how to implement programs that integrate prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery support, and re-entry;
  • Advise agencies on directing appropriate grants to support addiction recovery, with a focus on prevention, treatment, and long-term resilience; and
  • Consult with States, tribal nations, local jurisdictions, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, the private sector, and philanthropic entities on the best strategies to ensure more Americans receive the treatment they need and celebrate individuals going through the recovery process.

MAKING PROGRESS ON THE DISEASE OF ADDICTION: The disease of addiction, also known as substance use disorder, is a crisis that touches families in every community in our Nation. 

• Addiction is a chronic, treatable disease with relapse rates similar to other chronic diseases.
• 48.4 million Americans, or 16.8% of our Nation’s population, suffer from addiction, yet very few who need treatment receive it or believe they need it.
• Among the 40.7 million adults with a substance use disorder in 2024 who did not receive treatment, 95.6% (or 38.1 million people) did not perceive they needed it.
• Addiction contributes to declining workforce participation, increased healthcare costs, homelessness, family instability, and lost productivity that together cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars each year.
• The framework for addiction treatment should parallel that of other chronic diseases – utilizing evidence-based care, scientific advancement, continuous support, and community connection.

DELIVERING ON PROMISES TO ADDRESS THE ADDICTION CRISIS: President Trump is committed to ending the addiction crisis and ensuring every American can access the help they need.

• He signed the SUPPORT Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025, strengthening Federal programs that address substance use disorders, overdoses, and mental health.
• He has taken aggressive action to stop the flow of deadly drugs into the United States, determined to save lives from the devastation caused by illicit narcotics crossing the border.
• He signed into law the HALT Fentanyl Act to permanently place Fentanyl-related substances into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
• His Administration is working to prevent drug use before it starts, strengthen treatment that leads to long-term recovery, and advance research and data to support effective drug control strategies.
• These efforts build on historic actions from President Trump’s first term, when he:
  • Declared the opioid crisis a nationwide public health emergency.
  • Signed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, the largest-ever legislative effort to address a drug crisis in our Nation’s history.
  • Launched the Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand in order to confront the many causes fueling the drug crisis.
  • Signed the CRIB Act, allowing Medicaid to help mothers and their babies who are born physically dependent on opioids by covering their care in residential pediatric recovery facilities.
  • Distributed $1 billion in grants for addiction prevention and treatment.
  • Announced a Safer Prescriber Plan to decrease the number of opioid prescriptions filled.
  • Expanded access to medication-assisted treatment and life-saving Naloxone.
  • Launched FindTreatment.gov, a tool to find help for substance abuse.
  • Approved 29 state Medicaid demonstrations to improve access to opioid use disorder treatment, including new flexibility to cover inpatient and residential treatment.