MANCHESTER, N.H. —
On Friday, President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget proposal was released, calling for $163 billion in federal cuts. In the proposed budget, the Trump administration is looking to not only cut funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, but eliminate the program altogether.

In the proposed budget released on Friday, a senior White House official said there’s abuse and fraud in LIHEAP.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen sits on the U.S. subcommittee that funds LIHEAP. Her office said the Granite State has received close to $30 million in LIHEAP funding in 2025, which helps more than 30,000 residents keep their homes warm in the winter.

Shaheen told News 9:

“Eliminating LIHEAP would be a disaster for the more than 30,000 Granite Staters who rely on this program to afford their utility bills and keep their homes warm in the winter. Make no mistake: President Trump is putting programs that help lower costs for Americans on the chopping block all so that he and Congressional Republicans can pass tax breaks for the nation’s wealthiest.”

News 9 also reached out to other New Hampshire delegates, including U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, who said:

“The Trump Administration’s proposal to gut LIHEAP is downright dangerous. Tens of thousands of families across New Hampshire rely on this critical program for energy assistance. Slashing it when hardworking Granite Staters are already facing sky-high energy costs will hurt those most in need. I will never stop standing up and fighting back to protect the programs you and your family rely on.”

In April, News 9 spoke with Ryan Clouthier, of CAP of Hillsborough and Rockingham counties, who said, “We saw just in this past year over 700 emergency situations where clients presented in a position of having no heat and no oil, no fuel.”

The 2026 budget proposal remains a wish list from the White House until negotiations with Congress begin.