The Trump administration may eliminate the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), according to a recently leaked draft fiscal year 2026 budget for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This “pre-decisional” budget drafted by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) contemplates drastic reorganization plans for HHS, including eliminating CPSC and integrating its functions into the Office of the Secretary within HHS.
The proposal creates a new staff division for an Assistant Secretary for Consumer Product Safety, which would “continue carrying out CPSC’s mission to protect the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from consumer products through education, safety standards activities, regulation, and enforcement.”
The proposed budget for the Assistant Secretary for Consumer Product Safety is $135 million. If approved, this would be a major reduction from CPSC’s FY 2024 budget of $151 million, and significantly less than CPSC’s requested budget of $183 million for FY 2025.
The potential elimination of CPSC and reduced budget committed to consumer product safety regulators is just one of the many proposed budget cuts outlined in the leaked document. If the proposed budget is approved by Congress, the overall budget for HHS would decrease by close to $40 billion. As explained in the introduction by OMB, “President Trump has committed to balancing the budget while providing adequate funding for critical nondefense discretionary priorities—securing our borders, caring for our veterans, and continued infrastructure investment.” OMB further explains that the proposed budget “reflect[s] the reforms necessary to enable agencies to fulfill their statutory responsibilities in the most cost-effective manner possible.”
The elimination of CPSC, which has existed since 1972, would create significant uncertainties about the consumer product regulatory landscape. Without CPSC’s centralized oversight, the responsibility for consumer product safety could shift to a patchwork of other federal agencies or state-level regulators, potentially leading to increased complexities, inconsistent regulations and enforcement, and increased compliance costs for all companies in the supply chain. Companies should keep informed about regulatory changes to adapt to new guidelines. We will continue to monitor and provide updates.