CA sues Trump over public health funds

A nurse prepares a blood draw at the Fresno County Department of Public Health in Fresno on June 9, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

California is suing the Trump administration after it said it plans to pull over $600 million in public health care funds to four Democratic-led states, including California.

Last week President Donald Trump's budget office directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to rescind the grant money from California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement that this action "would irreparably harm the states," and filed a lawsuit Wednesday with the other states to block the cuts from happening.

Trump's budget office said those states were singled out because the money was "inconsistent with agency priorities," according to The New York Times. Nearly two-thirds of the money is earmarked for California over several years.

Grants that are potentially on the chopping block have been reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times to include:

• $7.5 million to the California Department of Public Health

• $1.3 million to Alameda County to hire more staff at its health department

• $1.7 million to the Santa Clara Public Health Department

• $1.1 million to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to monitor HIV risk

• $383,000 to the Los Angeles LGBT Center to prevent HIV in local communities

In a statement to CalMatters, the state's public health department said it is "actively monitoring the situation" but has yet to receive official notification from the CDC. Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said Wednesday that Trump's directive follows "a familiar pattern."

• Marissa Saldivar, Newsom spokesperson, in an emailed statement: "The President publicly claims he will rip away public health funding from states that voted against him, while offering no details or formal notice."

In other health news: A spate of measles cases has Shasta County on edge, but officials say they are monitoring the outbreak, which was first reported on Jan. 30. At least eight residents were recently confirmed to have the illness so far — the most out of any California county this year — and are remaining in isolation. As of Monday, the state has had a total of 17 measles cases. California's first 2026 measles case was reported in January in San Mateo County.