President Donald Trump’s administration cannot rescind $600 million in public health grants allocated to four Democrat-led states, for now, a federal judge in Illinois ruled Thursday.
California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota sued Wednesday to try to block the planned funding cuts to programs that track disease outbreaks and study health outcomes of LGBTQ people and communities of color in major cities.
U.S. District Judge Manish Shah stopped the cuts from taking effect for 14 days, saying in his order that the states “have shown that they would suffer irreparable harm from the agency action.” That will keep grant money flowing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to state and city health departments and their partner organizations while the challenge proceeds.
The first batch of grants could have been pulled Thursday if the judge had not intervened, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said.
The Department of Health and Human Services said the grants are being terminated because they do not reflect CDC priorities, which were revised last year to align with the administration's shift away from the idea that certain populations may need additional support to eliminate health disparities.
Much of the money helped cities fight the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, especially among gay and bisexual men, adolescents and ethnic minorities.
Federal health officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the judge’s order.
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