Democratic-led states sue to stop Trump from withholding $600M in health
grants
[February 12, 2026]
By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
Four Democratic-led states that have become frequent targets of
President Donald Trump sued Wednesday to try to block his administration
from cutting off hundreds of millions in public health grants.
The Department of Health and Human Services told Congress on Monday that
it planned to withhold about $600 million in grant funding allocated to
the four states: California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota. Their
attorneys general argue the cuts are backlash for the states’ opposition
to Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The lawsuit says the cuts violate the Constitution by imposing
retroactive conditions on funding and asks a federal court in Illinois
to block them from taking effect.
Some grants could be terminated as soon as Thursday, and others in the
coming weeks, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said.
Health officials have said the grants — several focused on LGBTQ+ people
and communities of color — are “inconsistent with agency priorities” as
the Trump administration has shifted away from supporting programs for
specific populations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
revised its priorities in September, dubbing health equity an
“ideologically-laden” concept that "has undermined core American
values.”
Health department officials did not immediately respond to requests for
comment on the lawsuit.
The administration also plans to pull hundreds of millions in
transportation funding from the same four states.
Courts have temporarily blocked similar efforts by the administration to
restrict federal funds.
A judge last week ruled that, for now, the administration cannot cut off
billions in child care subsidies and other social service programs for
lower-income people in those four states plus New York.
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A sign marks the entrance to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention headquarters Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Atlanta.
(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
 Several of the largest planned
health funding cuts are to programs aimed at preventing the spread
of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in Chicago and Los
Angeles, with a focus on adolescents, ethnic minorities and gay men.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called the funding cuts “a slap in the
face” to public health leaders who have stepped up as the Trump
administration “takes a sledgehammer to public health
infrastructure.”
The administration is also targeting a $7.2 million grant for the
Chicago-based American Medical Association, noting its support for
gender-affirming care for minors, which a Trump executive order
opposes.
Other grants help the states track disease outbreaks and collect
public health data that the CDC also uses.
California faces the largest share of the planned cuts, which
Attorney General Rob Bonta said will “irreparably harm” public
health in the state.
“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.”
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