By John Q. Hosedrinker 
A month before a fatal shooting, the Trump administration slashed funding from a Homeland Security program designed to prevent mass shootings. This downsizing significantly impacted the DHS’ Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, leading to the termination of grants for local agencies in Minnesota. These grants were crucial for establishing multidisciplinary teams aimed at identifying and managing potential threats. While DHS officials defended the decision, critics argued that the loss of these programs left communities more vulnerable, potentially impacting the ability to prevent the tragic event.
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Trump administration cuts Minnesota shooting prevention funds weeks before school attack. The timing, as it always seems to be in these situations, is truly shocking, isn’t it? Just a month before the tragic shooting in Minneapolis, the Trump administration made a decision that now feels particularly devastating: they slashed $18.5 million from a Homeland Security program specifically designed to identify and prevent mass shootings. It’s hard not to feel a sense of unease when you hear about these kinds of decisions and then the events that followed.
In July, the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3), which administered the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program, saw its funding and staffing dramatically reduced. This program was the lifeline for local initiatives working to identify and stop potential shooters. The downsizing meant drastically cutting the center’s staff, shrinking it to a skeleton crew, and eliminating numerous contracts. What does that tell you? It tells you that the very people and programs meant to help prevent these tragedies were being systematically dismantled.
Consider this: the Minnesota Department of Public Safety had a grant in place to create a statewide threat assessment and management team, with a focus on active shooters and related threats. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office was working to enhance collaboration between different professionals to address the risk of mass violence. These were real, tangible efforts designed to make communities safer. They were projects that were being actively funded before the administration pulled the plug.
DHS officials tried to justify the cuts, saying that the grant program was just a “slush fund for left-wing ideologies,” and that it did “next to nothing to combat actual threats in our communities.” This explanation is very easy to see through, and it really highlights the core of the issue, doesn’t it? Critics, however, correctly pointed out that these programs were essential, providing local agencies with critical tools to prevent violence. Rep. Betty McCollum and other lawmakers had actually sent a letter to DHS, urging them to reinstate the funding, specifically because of the growing threats to schools and religious institutions. Unfortunately, their concerns were ignored.
One former DHS employee, speaking anonymously, painted a grim picture, stating that the Minneapolis event “was 100 percent preventable.” Think about that for a moment, and the weight of those words really hits home. It is not just sad, it’s infuriating. It’s a reminder of the human cost when politics interferes with the safety of our communities.
And then you see the justifications. The program was labeled a “slush fund for left-wing ideologies”. It’s the same playbook, isn’t it? Anything that doesn’t align with a particular political viewpoint is immediately dismissed. It’s the same projection Republicans often use. They accuse others of the very things they are doing. This comes from an administration that appears to have a habit of cutting programs designed to protect people.
Cutting funding that might have helped to avoid a mass shooting, seems like a reckless decision. It is not hard to see how removing these types of preventative measures, while also, very strangely, removing pandemic preparedness offices before a global crisis or even firing FAA staff before a wave of crashes. It all adds up to a pattern.
The fact that the US is one of the only countries that needs “shooting prevention funds” just adds another layer to the absurdity. It becomes clear, that the focus is on the easy answer, putting money toward law enforcement. The real issue, the one that everyone seems to sidestep, is gun availability. The constant call for more guns, the focus on mental health while simultaneously refusing to fund those services adequately. It’s a cycle that never seems to end.
And that’s where the anger comes in. The frustration with the inaction. The helplessness that comes with realizing that the same mistakes are being made over and over again. It is not a coincidence, the same thing happened with the Benghazi embassy attack. Stripping security funding and then, oh, the embassy is attacked. The GOP is often described as the pro-school shooting party. They’ll never let you believe that they care about the kids. Instead, they’ll offer up “thoughts and prayers” while avoiding real action. This decision is not just a mistake; it is a tragedy. It is also a reminder that actions have consequences, and in this case, those consequences are measured in the lives of innocent people.