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Drug overdose deaths in the United States dropped by about 14 percent in 2025, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
OD-linked deaths dropped between December 2024 and December 2025, representing roughly 70,000 deaths in the U.S., according to the agency’s initial data.
President Donald Trump proudly reiterated this data on Truth Social over the weekend, posting a chart, sourced by the CDC, showing the decline in OD-related deaths in the United States.
“Thank you, President Trump[,]” the chart read.
OD-linked deaths dropped among several different drug categories, including fentanyl and cocaine, according to an analysis from the Associated Press.
This may come as little surprise, given the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to crack down on the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. Almost immediately upon taking office, President Trump acted to stem the flow of illicit drugs pouring across the border, imposing duties on facilitating countries like China and Canada.
The Department of Homeland Security has also significantly targeted drug trafficking under the Trump administration. Just this week, agents within the Homeland Security Task Force seized over 700 pounds of cocaine in Southwest Ohio.
Last week, the Department of Justice announced charges against more than 25 Tren de Aragua-linked individuals for alleged crimes like robbery, kidnapping, extortion, and controlled substance trafficking.
Since January 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, under the leadership of the Trump administration, has seized over 12,000 pounds of fentanyl, according to an April press release from the DHS.
“The Biden administration left our border wide open for drug cartels to pour drugs into country and profit off of killing Americans. Under President Trump, we are dismantling drug cartels. Thanks to our secure border, we have cut down the flow of fentanyl and other deadly drugs into our communities,” said Acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis in a statement.
Last year, President Trump additionally signed into law the “Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act,” also known as the HALT Fentanyl Act. The legislation permanently classified fentanyl as a Schedule 1 drug.
