Confusion remains after Trump administration abruptly halts public health funding to cities and states, then reverses
Source: msn/CNN Health
12h
As public health departments across the country prepared for a massive winter storm this weekend, notice landed in their inboxes that pivotal grant funding from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was paused. No more money could be spent. Within hours, a US Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson confirmed to CNN that the pause had been lifted, although grant recipients said they had yet to get an update from HHS.
“It’s just more chaos, more uncertainty,” said Dr. Phil Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services in Texas. “It just interferes with our ability to provide these public health services to our community.”
No grants were terminated, according to HHS. “The Public Health Infrastructure Grants were temporarily paused so HHS could implement a new review process, one that will ensure funds are used for their intended purposes and in alignment with agency priorities,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in an email to CNN. “HHS will continue to protect taxpayer money and ensure they are used for legitimate purposes.”
According to the CDC, the grants funded health departments in 50 states and Washington, DC, eight territories and 48 large localities. As of December 2025, $5.1 billion had been awarded: $4.7 billion to 107 health departments and $382 million to national partners. Funds are used for lab testing, responding to and preparing for emergencies and direct patient care. They paid for thousands of public health jobs across the country. For several hours Saturday, it seemed that this funding pause would come on top of cuts to Covid-era funding that states and local governments absorbed last year.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/confusion-remains-after-trump-administration-abruptly-halts-public-health-funding-to-cities-and-states-then-reverses-course/ar-AA1UTJjJ
Full headline: Confusion remains after Trump administration abruptly halts public health funding to cities and states, then reverses course
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