WASHINGTON D.C. — Drug enforcement agencies across the nation play a crucial role in fighting the drug epidemic.
The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program is at risk of a 35% funding cut by the Trump administration.
HIDTA was established by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 and provides assistance to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States.
HIDTA funding goes to drug enforcement task forces comprised of multiple federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to dismantle and disrupt drug trafficking organizations; multi-agency intelligence centers that provide drug intelligence to HIDTA initiatives and participating agencies.
The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget request proposes to move the HIDTA program from the Office of National Drug Control Policy to the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) while also reducing funding by $102,000,000 of the FY 2025 allocation.
NBC Montana spoke with Keith Weis, the Executive director for the Rocky Mountain HIDTA program.
“Historically, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area programs have been administered from the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and it’s been a very successful model over the years, primarily because with the placement of the program in this, the program supports overall drug strategies from the administration across the country. There’s 33 HIDTAs in all 50 states across the country, and essentially it gives the authority to each local HIDTA through their executive boards to come up with strategies at the local level that best work for the communities,” Weis explained, “It’s been a very successful model, and the placement of the program in this position gives it an air of neutrality and unbiasedness. It’s not dictated by any one agency. It represents a group of all the agencies combined. So given that fact, the HIDAs have been very successful in coordinating the drug strategies and supporting local law enforcement at every level.”
Six counties across Montana are designated as HIDTA areas, meaning agencies in those areas have access to program funding and assistance to help combat the drug epidemic.
The Rocky Mountain HIDTA, one of 33 in the country, coordinates program activities in four states, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Montana.
The potential cuts to the HIDTA program are listed here, on page 628 of the over 1,200 page document.
It states the following: “The budget proposes to transfer management of the HIDTA program from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), to OJP to improve coordination with the Department’s other drug enforcement efforts.”
“It affects every agency across the country. I will say that the HIDTAs have, at least here in the Rocky Mountain HIDTA, we’ve been operating under a baseline budget that’s been stagnant or consistent since 2018. So we haven’t had any real increases. So significant cuts to this baseline funding could be highly detrimental to all of our task forces that are forward across the region, especially in Montana,” Weis explained.
NBC Montana reached out to multiple agencies, who would be affected by the HIDTA cuts, here are the responses we received.
From part of a letter sent to Montana Senators and Congressional Representatives by Missoula County Sheriff Jeremiah Petersen:
“Currently the Rocky Mountain HIDTA is supporting more than 130 law enforcement agencies and 28 Drug Task Forces. It also provides free professional law enforcement training and, last year, provided drug education to over 26,000 students. Additionally, our HIDTA supported teams investigated 231 Drug Trafficking Organizations, many having violent and/or Mexico based cartel links resulting in over 4,000 felony arrests, the seizures of 10.8 million dosage units of fentanyl, 4,000 pounds of methamphetamines, 810 pounds of cocaine, 270 pounds of heroin and 1,500 weapons used in the commission of a crime. He goes on to say: “Simply put, this is not the time to weaken the nation’s most effective multi-agency framework for addressing the threats posed by cartel-driven drug trafficking. Law enforcement professionals across the country—and especially in Missoula County, like ours—urge Congress to preserve ONDCP’s authority over HIDTA and fully fund the HIDTA program.”
From part of a letter that Lee Johnson sent on behalf of the Montana Department of Justice. This is from a letter obtained by NBC Montana that he sent to Senator Daines:
“The Montana Department of Justice receives direct support from the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking task force (RMHIDTA) in the form of funding that supports the Montana Highway Patrol Criminal Interdiction Team and the Drug Intelligence Officer program for the state. Statewide, RMHIDTA provides financial support to five (5) drug task forces and the aforementioned interdiction team, as well as free training opportunities to law enforcement. RMHIDTA also provides intelligence and analytical support to investigative efforts that directly impact public safety across the state and region. Across its four-state region of Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming, the Rocky Mountain HIDTA supports more than 130 law enforcement agencies, 28 drug task forces, and provides free professional law enforcement training. In 2024, the RMHIDTA-supported teams investigated 231 drug trafficking organizations, many having violent and/or Mexico based cartel links, resulting in over 4,000 felony arrests, the seizures of 10.8 million dosage units of fentanyl, 4,000 pounds of methamphetamines, 810 pounds of cocaine, 270 pounds of heroin, and 1,500 weapons used in the commission of a crime. RMHIDTA also provided anti-drug education to over 26,000 students in 2024.”
Montana Senators and Congressional Representatives sent out statement regarding the proposed cuts.
A spokesperson from Senator Tim Sheehy’s office sent us the following statement:
“A budget proposal is not law, but an outline of the president’s priorities. As the administration works to rein in spending and deliver government services more efficiently, Senator Sheehy will work to ensure cost-saving measures are targeted responsibly and the critical resources Montanans rely on are protected.”
From Gabby Wiggins, spokesperson for Senator Daines:
“Senator Daines supports President Trump’s efforts to crack down on drug trafficking, which he has done by closing the border to cartels and other violent criminals who have been spreading deadly drugs around our communities. He also supports robust funding for HIDTA and will continue to advocate for the program throughout the budget process.”
From Congressman Troy Downing:
“The Republican party is unquestionably the party of law and order. Not only did the HIDTA program see no cuts throughout the budget reconciliation process, our One Big Beautiful Bill delivers historic funding for permanent border security to stop the flow of illicit drugs into Second District communities. I was proud to champion this generational legislation and will continue to advocate for more resources to protect Montanans from the disastrous effects of Biden’s border crisis as Congress considers additional funding measures.”
The following statement from the Office of Congressman Zinke:
“The House does not vote on the president’s budget proposal. The House carefully reviews the president’s budget request and then drafts a funding bill reflecting the agency’s needs. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Congressman Zinke helps craft the yearly funding bills, he has at no point proposed or voted to eliminate funding for HIDTA. Zinke has, however, been a consistent advocate for law enforcement and efforts to combat drug trafficking. He has personally secured and passed into law multiple multi-million dollar grants to support law enforcement agencies across Montana. In every annual budget, he has voted to increase funding for public safety and drug enforcement. As the appropriations process moves forward, Congressman Zinke will review the President’s proposed budget and work to craft funding bills that strengthen the fight against drug trafficking and abuse in Montana’s cities and on tribal lands.”
“The return on the investment has been very high for for what the investments are and it’s supported at all levels, especially at our local and state levels historically the program is very popular and you know, it doesn’t surprise me that we’ve had a lot of outreach by our communities by our agencies and people in these areas to voice their concerns about the program,” Weis said.
Here’s more information about the potential cuts to HIDTA.
Here’s a link to the President’s Budget.
Here’s a link to learn more about HIDTA areas.
And here’s a link to learn more about HIDTA as a whole.