A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ordered the Trump administration to restore nearly $12 million in federal grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics, ruling that the Department of Health and Human Services likely acted with a retaliatory motive when it cut the funding late last year.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued a preliminary injunction late Sunday blocking HHS from enforcing the grant terminations while the lawsuit proceeds.
"This is not a case about whether AAP or HHS is right or even has the better position on vaccinations and gender-affirming care for children, or any other public health policy," Howell wrote in a 52-page opinion.
"This is a case about whether the federal government has exercised power in a manner designed to chill public health policy debate by retaliating against a leading and generally trusted pediatrician-member professional organization focused on improving the health of children."
The AAP sued HHS after seven multiyear grants were abruptly terminated in December, a move the organization argued violated its First Amendment rights.
Three of the terminated grants were awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and four were awarded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, according to the lawsuit.
Howell said the evidence showed the academy was likely targeted because it publicly disagreed with positions taken by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccines and gender-transition care.
According to the ruling, the terminated grants, which totaled nearly $12 million in undisbursed funds for 2025, represented almost two-thirds of the academy's federal funding.
Howell found the organization demonstrated it would suffer irreparable harm without court intervention, including layoffs, program shutdowns, and damage to its reputation and partnerships.
Kennedy has publicly criticized the academy for receiving funding from pharmaceutical companies and vaccine manufacturers.
The academy broke with HHS last year by continuing to recommend COVID-19 vaccination for infants and toddlers after the Food and Drug Administration said healthy young children no longer needed it.
The group also publicly objected after Kennedy dismissed the CDC's vaccine advisory panel.
Howell noted that none of the terminated grants were directly related to vaccines or gender-transition care and that agency staff overseeing the programs were reportedly unaware the funding was about to be cut.
The academy said that its programs would abruptly cease, staff would be laid off, and families nationwide would lose access to critical pediatric health services without the injunction.
"[Sunday's] court action offers welcome relief for children and families, who benefit from these important services that make communities safer and healthier," said Mark Del Monte, the academy's chief executive officer and executive vice president, in a statement.
"The federal government remains an essential partner to improving the health of children."
Howell said that suspending federal grants is permissible only in emergency situations involving demonstrated national harm, a standard she said the administration failed to meet.
Newsmax reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.