A judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from cancelling $42 million in public health funding from the Minnesota Department of Health.
A judge issued the temporary restraining order Thursday after Attorney General Keith Ellison and other attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the federal Office of Management and Budget.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s five-year Public Health Infrastructure grant was awarded to the state in 2022 and was set to end in 2027. MDH reported that 107 health departments across the county received this funding, but the grants for Minnesota, Colorado, Illinois and California have been canceled, totaling more than $600 million.
In a press release, MDH described the loss of funding as "the latest development in the federal government's ongoing campaign of retribution against Minnesota."
“These cuts by the federal government, and other cuts to public health funding over the past year, highlight a total disregard for promoting health and well-being. The ongoing cuts create an environment of chaos and confusion for communities,” said Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Brooke Cunningham in a statement.
The funds from the Public Health Infrastructure grant were used by MDH for emergency preparedness and response efforts, updating and modernizing data systems, building public health service capacity in Greater Minnesota and providing training and resources to partner organizations in the region.
“A number of funds that were coming into MDH were also going out to public health departments and tribal health departments around the state to help fund things at the local level,” an MDH spokesperson said.
MDH said that the federal government’s funding cuts make it increasingly difficult to invest in public health infrastructure.
In response to the funding cuts, Attorney General Keith Ellison and the attorneys general from the other three affected states filed a lawsuit against the federal government. The suit contends that the federal Office of Management and Budget unlawfully cut the funding and seeks a temporary restraining order to preserve the funding while the lawsuit is underway.
Additionally, the CDC informed MDH on Wednesday that it was cutting $250,000 from the Core State Injury Prevention Program, which addresses adverse childhood experiences and various injury threats, such as motor vehicle crashes. The CDC also intends to reduce funding for Prevention Services Block Grants, the HIV Surveillance Grant, and the Strengthening STD Prevention and Control for Health Departments grant.
“This is not normal. Assaults like this hurt our state and make it harder for us to do our work to protect, maintain and improve the health of Minnesotans,” Cunningham said.
The temporary restraining order will last 14 days. Ellison’s office said he will seek a preliminary injunction extending the order until a decision is made about the lawsuit.
