A recently leaked and apparently genuine Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Budget "Passback" memorandum—the OMB's official feedback mechanism for budget submissions from federal agencies—signals major changes to the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) proposed discretionary budget for Fiscal Year 2026. Namely, the draft Passback shows the Trump administration is considering sweeping changes to the structure and funding of federal health and safety programs, including not only HHS but also the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
Dated April 10, 2025, the draft Passback is marked "pre-decisional" and explicitly not intended for dissemination. According to its language, the proposed funding levels "reflect the reforms necessary to enable agencies to fulfill their statutory responsibilities in the most cost-effective manner possible," while acknowledging that "many difficult decisions were necessary to reach the funding level provided in the Passback." The Washington Post has verified the authenticity of the draft Passback, though no formal confirmation has been issued by the White House or the relevant agencies.
In the draft Passback, the Trump administration proposes cutting nearly one-third of the federal health department's budget. This would be achieved primarily through the elimination of select programs and the consolidation of various health and safety-related agencies under a new umbrella entity: the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA), overseen by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Among the potentially affected agencies is the CPSC, an independent, bipartisan regulatory body established by Congress during the Nixon administration in 1972 through the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). The CPSC is tasked with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with consumer products. Under the proposed restructuring, the CPSC's functions and staff would be absorbed into a newly created "Assistant Secretary for Consumer Product Safety" within the Immediate Office of the Secretary. The draft Passback also outlines a reduction in funding for administrative and support functions, stating that those responsibilities could be handled by existing staff within the Immediate Office of the Secretary. The CPSC reported total budgetary resources of $174.3 million in FY 2024. Its operating plan for FY 2025—last revised on February 25, 2025—requests $151 million at the Continuing Resolution level and $183.05 million under the President's proposed budget. By contrast the FY 2025 budget for the Immediate of Office of the Secretary was $15.2 million. How the proposed restructuring would affect these appropriations remains unclear.
What Is Next for the CPSC?
The future of the CPSC remains uncertain. The CPSC is an independent agency created and empowered through congressional legislation. As only Congress has historically had the power to create and eliminate independent agencies, this draft Passback raises questions regarding whether the executive branch has the necessary authority to actually do what it proposes.
The CPSA mandated the CPSC's creation in 1972, which was expanded in 2008 through the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Traditionally, these enacting legislations would have insulated the CPSC from unilateral intervention by the executive branch. However, this draft Passback, in combination with several recent executive orders, signals plans to reduce the independence of regulatory agencies and asserts a level of executive oversight that would depart from historical norms. These efforts raise constitutional questions, particularly ones regarding the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches.
These actions are likely to spark significant legal challenges. But with a Supreme Court that has reviewed and overturned related precedent, there is a possibility that these challenges may not succeed. Notably, the Court recently stayed a lower court ruling that reinstated Gwynne Wilcox to the National Labor Relations Board, and the matter is pending final disposition. Wilcox's removal raises questions under Humphrey's Executor v. United States, 295 U.S. 602 (1935), a landmark case that limited a president's power to remove officers of independent agencies. That precedent may now be at risk. In its reply brief, the Trump administration leaves little doubt about its intentions: "Article II of the Constitution vests the 'executive Power'—'all of it'—in the President alone."
In short, the possibility that the CPSC may be subject to restructuring cannot be ruled out. If implemented, the changes outlined in the draft Passback would mark a significant step toward increased executive oversight of independent agencies like the CPSC.
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