Federal judge blocks $602M in CDC cuts to 4 states

A federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois granted a temporary restraining order Feb. 12 blocking the Trump administration from terminating more than $600 million in CDC-administered public health grants to California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota for 14 days.

Judge Manish Shah wrote in a two-page order that the states made a sufficient showing to temporarily halt the funding terminations while the case proceeds. A status hearing is set for Feb. 18.

The restraining order follows a Feb. 11 lawsuit filed by the four Democratic-led states after the Office of Management and Budget directed the CDC — which is part of HHS — to rescind $602 million in grants. HHS notified Congress Feb. 10 of its intent to terminate the funding.

The targeted grants include funding for public health infrastructure, as well as testing and treatment programs for diseases such as HIV. The largest program at issue is the Public Health Infrastructure Grant, which operates in all 50 states.

An HHS spokesperson previously told Becker’s the grants are being terminated because they “do not reflect agency priorities.” Becker’s has reached out for additional or updated comments.

The 26-page complaint alleged the funding cuts would “impose catastrophic irreparable harm” and are “based on political animus and disagreements about unrelated topics such as federal immigration enforcement, political protest and clean energy.”

In the lawsuit, the attorneys general argue the planned terminations violate the Administrative Procedure Act and exceed federal agencies’ statutory authority by imposing retroactive conditions on previously awarded funding.

In a written opinion accompanying the order, Judge Shah wrote that plaintiffs had shown the administration likely issued internal guidance directing agencies to terminate public health grants. He also wrote that “recent statements plausibly suggest that the reason for the direction is hostility to what the federal government calls ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’ or ‘sanctuary cities.’” The judge emphasized that his findings are preliminary and based on a limited record.

The decision comes after HHS moved in early January to halt roughly $10 billion in federal funds to the same four states, along with New York. A federal judge later blocked that funding freeze through a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.

Separately, the Minnesota Department of Health said Feb. 12 that the CDC confirmed cancellation of approximately $38 million in Public Health Infrastructure Grant funding for the state, effective Feb. 11, citing that the funding was “inconsistent with agency priorities.”

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