Trump administration again blocked from cutting billions in federal health money
Source: Associated Press
President Donald Trump’s administration must put the brakes on slashing billions in federal money for public health departments, a federal judge said Friday.
U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy in Rhode Island granted the preliminary injunction request in the lawsuit brought last by a coalition of Democrat-led states, allowing the money to keep flowing.
“If we don’t have our health, we don’t have anything, and that’s why today’s preliminary injunction is such a critical win,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement, adding later: “A hacksaw approach to government reduction will never yield positive results for the American people, and we will continue to fight, and win, in court to minimize the harm the Trump Administration is causing the people of this country.”
The lawsuit filed April 1 by 23 states and the District of Columbia sought to immediately halt $11 billion in cuts, alleging that it would decimate public health infrastructure across the country. The money, allocated by Congress during the pandemic, supported COVID-19 initiatives and mental health and substance abuse efforts.
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By DEVNA BOSE
Updated 1:01 PM EDT, May 16, 2025
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/public-health-money-trump-lawsuit-injunction-0d57fc1dcc78702d8f055e172cf68347
Source: Courthouse News Service
Trump-appointed judge blocks $11 billion in cuts to public health funding
“Agencies do not have unfettered power to further a president's agenda,” U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy ruled Friday.
Erik Uebelacker / May 16, 2025
(CN) — A coalition of 23 states on Friday won a preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from slashing more than $11 billion in public health funding approved by Congress during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The federal jurist behind the ruling, U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy of Rhode Island, was appointed to the bench in 2019 by President Donald Trump.
“While the court acknowledges the government’s position that it may be forced to spend money inconsistent with the executive’s agenda, an injunction would strongly serve the public interest in maintaining the states’ healthcare systems and initiatives,” McElroy wrote in a 60-page order blocking the cuts as the case proceeds.
State officials sued the Trump administration in April after the Department of Health and Human Services announced it would pull grant funding from public health initiatives like vaccine distribution and the tracking of infectious diseases.
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Read more: https://www.courthousenews.com/trump-appointed-judge-blocks-11-billion-in-cuts-to-public-health-funding/