The Trump administration this week began cuts to $600 million in funding used to track and prevent HIV and STDs in four Democrat-led states.
The Centers of Disease Control plans to suspend grants to local public health agencies, hospitals, NGOs and universities in California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota.
Cuts began the week of February 9 and are expected to continue over the next several weeks.
Historically, the groups used the money to study the spread of HIV and STDs, track outbreaks or offer pre-exposure prophylaxis.
Some funding cuts would also apply to groups that supported children’s gender transition or provided social programs for LGBTQ+ adults.
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A spokesperson from the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services said the agency would cut funds “because they do not reflect agency priorities.”
In September of 2025, the CDC revised some of its policies, saying efforts to pursue health equity were “ideologically-laden” and had “undermined core American values.”
Target states sue
Attorneys general in the four states set to lose funding have sued to block the cuts, saying the changes are retaliation over state resistance to the administration’s immigration priorities. In the suit, they argue the cuts are unconstitutional because they impose conditions on funding after the fact.
California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta said the cuts would “irreparably harm” public health efforts.
“President Trump is resorting to a familiar playbook. He is using federal funding to compel states and jurisdictions to follow his agenda,” Bonta said. “Those efforts have all previously failed, and we expect that to happen once again.”
The lawsuit is before a federal judge in Illinois.
