PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes today sent a letter to the state’s congressional delegation urging them to oppose President Trump’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget, which includes a 35% cut to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program and a proposed relocation of the program from the Office of National Drug Control Policy to the Department of Justice.
“The Trump budget proposal would defund local law enforcement, weaken our ability to interdict narcotics, and give the upper hand to the drug cartels,” said Attorney General Mayes. “Arizona is on the front lines of the fentanyl crisis, and cutting this program will only make our communities less safe.”
The HIDTA program supports collaboration among federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, funding 27 initiatives in Arizona alone, supporting 90 agencies and more than 800 law enforcement officers and support staff. In 2024, law enforcement seized more than 83 million fentanyl pills and over 2,000 kilograms of fentanyl powder in Arizona—accounting for half of the nation’s total fentanyl seizures.
“Now is not the time to pull the rug out from under law enforcement,” Mayes continued. “We are finally seeing progress in the fight against opioids, and cutting HIDTA’s budget would only reverse that progress. I expect the federal government to do everything in its power to support the efforts of Arizona law enforcement.”
Attorney General Mayes previously supported the HIDTA Enhancement Act introduced by Senator Mark Kelly and has called on the DEA to restore key resources in Arizona. In her letter, she urged Congress to reject the Trump budget proposal and instead strengthen federal support for the fight against drug trafficking and opioid abuse.
A copy of the letter is below.