Federal Courts and Public Health Funding

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from rescinding about $600 million in CDC grants that were part of a recent bipartisan funding bill the president had just signed into law. Judge Manish Shah said recent statements plausibly tie the cuts to hostility toward "sanctuary" jurisdictions, and local health officials warned the rescission would immediately harm programs — from a lost lab position for rapid testing of Ebola, anthrax and measles to HIV prevention in Chicago, firearm-injury reduction in Denver and healthy-food access in Minneapolis — underscoring public-health leaders’ complaints of “whiplash” and the need for stable federal support.