Trump administration tries to claw back $400M in public health funding from Michigan

Michigan Attorney Dana Nessel is suing to stop the Trump administration from abruptly cutting off billions of dollars in federal grant funding for public health initiatives nationwide. 

LANSING—Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is squaring off with the Trump administration in court after billions of dollars in federal grant funding was abruptly terminated last month, including about $380 million for public health initiatives in Michigan.

The lawsuit, which was filed this week by Nessel and a coalition of attorneys general from 22 other states and the District of Columbia, argues that US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. broke federal law by cutting off grant funding allocated to Michigan and other states with “no warning or legally valid explanation”—a move which has since triggered chaos for state health agencies that rely on the funds for a range of public health needs.

“The Trump administration is terminating millions in grants being used in our state to support vaccine clinics for kids, crisis mental health services, opioid abuse intervention, and to control disease spread,” Nessel said in a statement on Tuesday. “These programs keep Michigan healthy and, in some cases, help save lives, and that’s worth standing up and fighting for.” 

Here’s the deal:

Thousands of federal workers responsible for tracking health trends and disease outbreaks, conducting and funding medical research, monitoring the safety of food and medicine, and administering health insurance programs were laid off on Tuesday as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to aggressively shrink the size and scope of the federal government.

The moves will reduce the Department of Health and Human Services to 62,000 positions, lopping off nearly a quarter of its staff—some through layoffs and others through early retirement and voluntary separation offers. The cuts include researchers, scientists, doctors, support staff, and senior leaders, leaving the federal government without many key experts who have long guided federal decisions on medical research, drug approvals, and other issues.

As part of the aggressive restructuring efforts, Kennedy—who has said the department’s $1.7 trillion yearly budget “has failed to improve the health of Americans”—is also taking steps to dismantle an assortment of public health grants that are awarded to states across the country.

What got cut?

All told, Kennedy has now terminated nearly $11 billion in public health grants nationwide.

Nessel said Michigan has lost a total of about $379 million in grants that were already awarded (and are now owed) to Michigan—including mental health and substance abuse grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which are meant to support infectious disease control, as well as cover important vaccinations for both children and vulnerable adults. 

Among the other Michigan grants purportedly terminated were:

• A grant to support services for Michiganders who are suffering serious mental illnesses or severe emotional disturbances—including for children’s services.
• A grant to enhance substance use disorder services for underserved and marginalized populations—including pregnant women, opioid users, and rural populations.
• Funding to help control the spread of infectious diseases—namely by paying for laboratory upgrades statewide that will improve state and local responses.
• Federal grants designed to support the immunization and vaccination of children—including providing routine immunizations and immunizations against seasonal respiratory viruses to children, adults, and vulnerable and underserved populations.

Nessel also said that more than 300 other grants awarded by the state Department of Health and Human Services rely on federal funds, and are impacted by the recent cuts—including $80 million that will no longer be able to reach grant recipients who provide direct care to patients.

What’s next?

State health officials rely on these federal funds to perform critical public health services across the state. And their abrupt termination has caused “panic” among state employees, partners, subgrantees, and service recipients—many of whom are flooding the health agency with questions still left unanswered by the federal government, according to Nessel’s office.

Local and state public health departments are still assessing other impacts of the loss of funds—including how it could weaken efforts to stem infectious diseases like flu and measles.

The lawsuit asks a judge to issue a temporary restraining order to invalidate Kennedy’s mass grant terminations, as well as prevent the Trump administration from trying to do it again.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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