A federal judge on Thursday temporarily halted a Trump administration order that would have slashed $600 million in federal grant funding for HIV programs in California and three other states. The decision came after the states argued the cuts were politically motivated, stemming from disagreements over unrelated state sanctuary policies.
Funding Freeze: Judge Blocks HIV Program Cuts
A judge’s order temporarily restores $600 million in federal funding for HIV programs in four states, citing potential political retaliation.
- U.S. District Judge Manish Shah, an Obama appointee in Illinois, issued the temporary restraining order.
- The cuts targeted programs aimed at tracking and curtailing HIV and other disease outbreaks.
- California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota filed suit, alleging the cuts were unconstitutional.
- The White House stated the cuts were directed at programs promoting “DEI and radical gender ideology.”
U.S. District Judge Manish Shah found that California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota were likely to succeed in arguing that President Trump and other administration officials targeted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding for termination “based on arbitrary, capricious, or unconstitutional rationales.” The judge’s order halts the administration’s action for 14 days while the litigation continues.
What exactly prompted this legal challenge? Judge Shah determined that while administration officials claimed the programs were cut for not aligning with CDC priorities, other statements “plausibly suggest that the reason for the direction is hostility to what the federal government calls ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’ or ‘sanctuary cities.’”
The judge acknowledged he may not have the authority to block a simple grant termination, but asserted jurisdiction to halt a directive to terminate funding based on unconstitutional grounds. “More factual development is necessary,” Shah wrote, “But as discussed, plaintiffs have made a sufficient showing that defendants issued internal guidance to terminate public-health grants for unlawful reasons; that guidance is enjoined as the parties develop a record.”
The cuts targeted a slate of programs aimed at tracking and curtailing HIV and other disease outbreaks, including a key early-warning system for HIV outbreaks in California. Some programs specifically served the LGBTQ+ community.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office stated that California faced “the largest share” of the cuts. The White House defended the cuts, stating they were directed at programs that “promote DEI and radical gender ideology,” while federal health officials maintained the programs did not align with the CDC’s “priorities.”
Bonta expressed optimism following Shah’s order, stating he and his fellow attorneys general are “confident that the facts and the law favor a permanent block of these reckless and illegal funding cuts.”
