The Trump administration is clawing back more than $12 billion in federal funding previously allocated to state and local health departments for COVID-19 response, triggering warnings from public health officials of layoffs, service cuts, and diminished readiness for future disease outbreaks.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed Wednesday it is revoking approximately $11.4 billion in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grants along with roughly $1 billion in funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago," HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement. "HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump's mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again."
HHS notified 13 affected agencies this week that they must reconcile expenditures and prepare for funding termination within 30 days. The move affects grants used for COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and preparedness initiatives, many of which had been extended beyond the official end of the pandemic to build infrastructure for future emergencies.
This is a "devastating blow to public health," said Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation. "People will lose jobs, programs will be reduced or cut, communities will be less safe."
In Colorado, Mesa County Public Health said it expects to lose $350,000 in funding-12% of its workforce-impacting COVID-19 vaccination services and respiratory disease testing. "This funding isn't just about COVID," said Executive Director Xavier Crockett. "It's about supporting the very backbone of local public health."
In Texas, Lubbock officials were ordered to halt grant-funded measles outbreak response programs, and in Minnesota, state officials said $226 million in approved grants were terminated without warning.
"We learned yesterday that the federal government has unilaterally terminated approximately $226 million in grants," said Dr. Brooke Cunningham, Minnesota Commissioner of Health. "This termination is effective immediately and impacts ongoing work and contracts."
Other states echoed the concern. Kristina Iodice, communications director for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, warned that "the sudden loss of federal funding threatens Colorado's ability to track COVID-19 trends and other emerging diseases."
Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, said her organization stands to lose $10 million. "These are COVID-era grants," Freeman said. "They were part of agreements that extended beyond the emergency to prepare for the next one."
According to Dr. Joseph Kanter, CEO of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the revoked funds were supporting critical infrastructure. "With congressional and executive branch support, these funds were being used to modernize data systems, bolster laboratory capacity, and improve electronic case reporting of time-sensitive infectious disease outbreaks," Kanter said.
In Dallas, Dr. Philip Huang, director of Health and Human Services, said the cuts would hit not only epidemiology and lab testing but also community health efforts like diabetes education.
"We are concerned that this sudden loss of federal funding threatens our ability to respond to outbreaks and provide critical immunization access," Iodice added.
Freeman told CBS News that the timing of the rescission made little sense. "It's ending in the next six months," she said. "There's no reason-why rescind it now? It's just cruel and unusual behavior."
Federal health agencies also face broader restructuring. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is finalizing plans for sweeping internal changes, and layoffs have already begun. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Elon Musk, is overseeing cuts that could impact over 5,000 federal health workers, according to CBS News.
Senate Democrats have demanded answers regarding the staffing purge, warning the administration is "blatantly undermining Americans' health and safety."
