EXCLUSIVE — Personal experience with addiction among policymakers at the highest levels of the Trump administration is shaping new federal policies on drug and alcohol recovery.Kathryn Burgum, co-chairwoman of the Great American Recovery initiative and wife of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, told the Washington Examiner in an exclusive interview that a new overhaul of federal recovery programs would not have been possible but for the multiple individuals within the Cabinet who have either struggled with addiction or had family members with substance abuse problems.The reform effort, which the administration has called the Great American Recovery initiative, was created by an executive order President Donald Trump signed in January.
Kathryn Burgum co-leads the program with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Since the program began, the pair have announced $800 million in addiction and mental health grants as well as a variety of new programs through HHS and other departments to help states improve access to treatment, stable housing, and family connections for those struggling with addiction.President Donald Trump looks to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and his wife Kathryn at an event on addiction recovery in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
