The Trump administration is rescinding more than $1.5 billion from a handful of Democrat-run states on the grounds that the funds were being mishandled.
The White House Office of Management and Budget directed the Transportation Department to scrap more than $943 million in grants and ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to roll back at least $602 million more from California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota, the New York Post reported.
An OMB spokesperson told the Post the states were being targeted for "waste and mismanagement" of taxpayer funds.
The targeted DOT programs included $100 million for the deployment of electric vehicle charging stations in Illinois near underserved communities; $15 million for Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, to deploy EV chargers in low-income and high-pollution areas; $15 million for a "robust, accessible, and equitable" EV charging network for "disadvantaged communities" in nine counties across San Francisco; $2 million for California's "climate change adaptation" plans; and $4.9 million for Colorado to install charging stations in low- and middle-income neighborhoods.
"At this time, Colorado has not received any official cancellation notices from the federal administration related to these grants," a spokesperson for Gov. Jared Polis told the Post.
"There is nothing 'woke' about making sure American roads are safer for everyone."
A Transportation Department spokesman confirmed the cuts were being carried out, the Post reported.
None of the rescinded CDC grants involved disease-specific research funding.
Instead, the money came from a pool of taxpayer funds distributed to the states, according to the Post.
Chicago was in line to receive $7 million for research involving "adolescents, racial and ethnic minorities, and men who have sex with men" being "disproportionately affected with sexually transmitted diseases," according to the Post.
Another $7.2 million was rescinded for the Illinois branch of the American Medical Association, which officials said supported gender reassignment surgery for children.
"Time and time again, the Trump administration has attempted to politicize and punish certain states President [Donald] Trump does not like," a spokesperson for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's office told the Post.
"It's wrong and often illegal, so Illinois will always fight for the resources and services our taxpayers are owed."
At least $3 million had been outlined for Colorado to "Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities," according to the Post.
Another $1.2 million grant was cut that would have allowed the state to "partner with local public health departments, local health agencies, community-based organizations, STD clinics, family planning clinics, [and] Title X clinics."
Los Angeles County is set to lose $1.1 million in remaining funding for an HIV behavioral survey after an initial $4.3 million grant was approved in January 2022, the Post reported.
California universities were also awaiting hundreds of thousands of federal dollars for research projects "reducing social isolation among older LGBTQ adults," "Creating Medical Trust with Latinx Communities," and a National Transgender Health Summit.
San Francisco had $337,000 remaining from a larger grant for "intersectoral climate adaptation," while Minneapolis was set to receive about $754,000 for "Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health," according to the Post.
The OMB spokesperson said additional grant cancellations were expected.
Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, did not immediately confirm the cuts, the Post reported.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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