The Daily Populous Friday February 13rd, 2026 evening edition
Authored by denver7.com and submitted by AudibleNod

The Trump administration this week began cuts to $600 million in funding used to track and prevent HIV and STDs in four Democrat-led states.

The Centers for Disease Control plans to suspend grants to local public health agencies, hospitals, NGOs and universities in California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota.

Cuts began the week of February 9 and are expected to continue over the next several weeks.

Historically, the groups used the money to study the spread of HIV and STDs, track outbreaks or offer pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Some funding cuts would also apply to groups that supported children's gender transition or provided social programs for LGBTQ+ adults.

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A spokesperson from the Trump administration's Department of Health and Human Services said the agency would cut funds "because they do not reflect agency priorities."

In September of 2025, the CDC revised some of its policies, saying efforts to pursue health equity were “ideologically-laden” and had "undermined core American values.”

Attorneys general in the four states set to lose funding have sued to block the cuts, saying the changes are retaliation over state resistance to the administration's immigration priorities. In the suit, they argue the cuts are unconstitutional because they impose conditions on funding after the fact.

California's Attorney General Rob Bonta said the cuts would “irreparably harm” public health efforts.

“President Trump is resorting to a familiar playbook. He is using federal funding to compel states and jurisdictions to follow his agenda," Bonta said. "Those efforts have all previously failed, and we expect that to happen once again.”

The lawsuit is before a federal judge in Illinois.

arglebargle_IV on February 13rd, 2026 at 15:28 UTC »

The four states:

> The Centers of Disease Control plans to suspend grants to local public health agencies, hospitals, NGOs and universities in California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota.

sanverstv on February 13rd, 2026 at 14:55 UTC »

Already blocked by a judge:

> A federal judge on Thursday blocked a Trump administration order slashing $600 million in federal grant funding for HIV programs in California and three other states, finding merit in the states’ argument that the move was politically motivated by disagreements over unrelated state sanctuary policies.

AudibleNod on February 13rd, 2026 at 14:27 UTC »

> A spokesperson from the Trump administration's Department of Health and Human Services said the agency would cut funds "because they do not reflect agency priorities."

For those in the back:

Eliminating disease doesn't reflect the Center for Disease Control's priorities.