U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he wants to get to the bottom of surging autism rates, but a new analysis finds that the Trump administration has cut funding for such research by double digits.

National Institutes of Health spending on autism research between January and April was down roughly $31 million compared to the same period last year, according to a Reuters review of federal data.

That represents a 26% drop from the average spending during that period over the last four years, the news service said.

The spending cuts come as the Trump administration has put renewed emphasis on autism while signaling a broad shift in priorities.

Under Kennedy, the Department of Health and Human Services has announced plans for a $50 million investment into the causes of autism and a large study looking at the long-discredited connection between autism and vaccines. More recently, the agency said it will use data on Medicare and Medicaid enrollees with autism to create a “real-world data platform” to allow research across claims, electronic medical records and consumer wearables.

“HHS remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing our understanding of autism spectrum disorder,” according to an agency spokesperson. “Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, we are focusing on research to identify the causes of autism, and we will continue our efforts until we have a complete understanding.”

While testifying before a Senate committee last month, Kennedy dismissed the importance of looking at genetics, which has been a major focus of autism research in recent years.

“I don’t think we should be funding that genetic work anymore. I think we know a lot about the genes that provide vulnerabilities,” Kennedy said. “What we really need to do now is to find the environmental toxins.”

Kennedy said in April that he would know the cause of what he calls the “autism epidemic” by September, but more recently he walked back that deadline saying that he would only have “some” information by then.

“To get the most solid information, it will probably take us another six months,” Kennedy told CNN, extending the timeline to roughly March 2026. At that point, he told the network “I expect we will know the answers of the etiology of autism.”

The Trump administration’s changes are likely to have significant impact. The federal government accounted for more than 82% of funding for autism research in 2020, according to a report issued last year by the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, a panel comprised of government officials and members of the autism community that’s tasked with coordinating federal autism efforts. The committee has been dormant since President Donald Trump took office in January.

Helen Tager-Flusberg, director of the Center for Autism Research Excellence at Boston University and the leader of the Coalition of Autism Scientists, a group of more than 250 researchers in the field, said that some projects have been canceled while in other cases funding for new NIH grants or renewals has been held up and there are concerns that the delays could become permanent. Many of the affected studies have focused in some manner on diversity, equity and inclusion while others looked at females with autism or underrepresented minorities, she said.

“There is also all the funding that has been frozen at targeted institutions such as Columbia University,” Tager-Flusberg said, adding that the reduced spending will have consequences. “Progress will undoubtedly be slowed as the funding shrinks and the administration stops supporting key areas of science.”

The cuts come just months after the Autism CARES Act was renewed, authorizing $1.95 billion in federal spending to address the developmental disability over the next five years.

Kristyn Roth, chief marketing officer at the Autism Society of America, said her group “is deeply concerned by reports that existing autism research — including studies recently authorized under the Autism CARES Act — may be paused or canceled for the current and upcoming fiscal years.”

Further, Roth noted that a recent roundtable of eight autism and disability advocacy groups highlighted a desire for greater research into services and supports for those on the spectrum.

“We’re hearing real concern from researchers that vital studies may be delayed or defunded — as well as a misalignment in research efforts,” Roth said. “Overall, this shift risks leaving autistic individuals and families without the scientific advancements needed to live fully.”

The drop in federal funding could already be setting the stage for long-term ramifications, advocates say.

In a survey conducted earlier this spring by the Autism Science Foundation, researchers reported at least $70 million in direct research funding for autism had been cut. More than half of those surveyed — many of whom indicated that they are just starting out in the field — said that they or others in their lab or program would lose their jobs as a result.

“Roughly one-third of these respondents plan to change their careers,” Alycia Halladay, chief science officer at the Autism Science Foundation, wrote in a posting about the findings.

“Most of these individuals are early career researchers,” she said. “If there is a mass exodus of scientists from autism research, the future of scientific discoveries will be very bleak.”