Democrats Demand Trump Reversal of $602 Million CDC Grant Cuts Threatening Public Health
Senate Democrats, including Senator Adam Schiff of California, have urged the Trump administration to reverse a planned rescission of approximately $602 million in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-related federal health grants.
In a letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., lawmakers warned that the cuts would undermine public health infrastructure in four states: California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota. The senators stated the administration had allegedly deemed the funding “inconsistent with agency priorities” and argued the move would threaten essential public health infrastructure, including testing and treatment for lethal diseases such as HIV.
Lawmakers also noted that no explanation was provided for why the grants were classified as inconsistent. A White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directive earlier this month directed the CDC and Department of Transportation to rescind a combined $1.5 billion in grants from the four states. An OMB spokesperson at the time described the rescissions as targeting “woke” healthcare grants in “states fraught with waste and mismanagement.”
Court filings by the four states describe an OMB “Targeting Directive” issued between February 1 and February 4, which cites an OMB spokesperson confirming that $602 million in CDC grants were to be rescinded from the states. The complaint also states that HHS notified Congress on February 9 of its intention to terminate a broad set of CDC grants in the plaintiff states.
A temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah on February 12 barred the administration from proceeding with the rescissions for 14 days, expiring around 4:45 p.m. on February 26, unless extended or replaced. The senators highlighted specific funds at risk, including $3 million allocated to Colorado for addressing COVID-19 disparities among racial and ethnic minority groups, $5.2 million to a Chicago children’s hospital to increase HIV prevention medication usage, and $500,000 to the University of California to evaluate state-level laws aimed at preventing sexual and intimate partner violence among gender and sexual minorities.
Additionally, Democrats pointed to an abrupt attempt by the administration to terminate thousands of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grants totaling about $2 billion. This action was reversed within a day. A Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations ranking member, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, stated: “My understanding is that there has been an intervention at the White House. It might be a one-day issue.”
An official, not authorized to speak on the matter, confirmed the grant cancellations were being rescinded. The senators who signed the letter include Schiff, Baldwin, and Democrats Alex Padilla of California; Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois; Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith of Minnesota; Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper of Colorado; Patty Murray of Washington, as well as Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
