Four Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration to stop it from cutting off about $600 million in public health grants allocated to California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Illinois. The suit follows a warning to Congress from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that it planned to withhold the funding.
In the complaint, the attorneys general for the four states argued the administration’s planned grant terminations violate the Constitution by imposing retroactive conditions on the awards. The states asked the court to block the cuts from taking effect, with some grants potentially ending as soon as Thursday, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said.
HHS has said the planned actions reflect agency priorities that it has since revised, according to health officials described in the complaint and in statements relayed by state attorneys. Health officials said the grants—several of which are aimed at LGBTQ+ people and communities of color—are “inconsistent with agency priorities” as the Trump administration has moved away from supporting programs for specific populations.
The lawsuit pointed to changes in CDC priorities. It said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its priorities in September, describing health equity as an “ideologically-laden” concept that “has undermined core American values.” Health department officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Colorado and the other states also said the administration’s approach extends beyond health grants. The administration plans to pull hundreds of millions in transportation funding from the same four states, and the complaint describes courts having temporarily blocked similar efforts by the administration to restrict federal funds.
In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker called the health funding cuts “a slap in the face” for public health leaders who, he said, have stepped up as the administration “takes a sledgehammer to public health infrastructure.” The lawsuit also described specific targets among the largest planned cuts, including programs meant to prevent the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in Chicago and Los Angeles, with a focus on adolescents, ethnic minorities and gay men.
The complaint said the administration is also targeting a $7.2 million grant for the Chicago-based American Medical Association, citing the group’s support for gender-affirming care for minors—an area opposed by a Trump executive order. Other grants described in the lawsuit help states track disease outbreaks and collect public health data that the CDC uses.
California faces the largest share of the planned cuts, and Attorney General Rob Bonta said the withholding would “irreparably harm” public health in the state. Bonta said the administration is using federal funding to compel states to follow its agenda and that similar efforts have previously failed.
The states’ case adds to a pattern of litigation over how the administration restricts or redirects federal support, with a separate judge last week ruling, for now, that the administration could not cut off billions in child care subsidies and other social service programs for lower-income people in the four states plus New York.