The Trump administration’s decision to revoke billions in pandemic-era public health funding has left Republican-led states shouldering the heaviest losses, while Democratic-led states and cities that sued successfully in court have seen most of their funding restored, according to a new analysis by KFF Health News.
In late March, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) canceled nearly 700 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grants nationwide, valued at about $11 billion. Originally distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the funds were designed to expand vaccination efforts, address health disparities, modernize disease surveillance systems, and hire community health workers.
At first, the cuts fell evenly across the political spectrum. Four of the five jurisdictions losing the most grants were Democratic strongholds — California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, and Massachusetts.
But after about two dozen Democratic-led states filed lawsuits and secured a federal injunction, the balance shifted dramatically. Of the five states now suffering the largest losses, four are Republican-led: Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Ohio.
The analysis found that nearly 80% of canceled grants in blue states have been restored, compared with fewer than 5% in red states. Researchers focused on the number of grants reported in HHS’s Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS), noting discrepancies between the database and what states reported receiving.
The funding battle highlights the widening partisan divide in health policy, where access to safety-net programs, abortion rights, and disease response capacity often varies sharply along political lines.
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement that the agency “is committed to protecting the health of every American, regardless of politics or geography. These funds were provided in response to the COVID pandemic, which is long over. We will continue working with states to strengthen public health infrastructure and ensure communities have the tools they need to respond to outbreaks and keep people safe.”
Public health officials stressed that the money supported far more than COVID-19 measures. It also helped states build long-term infrastructure and respond to a range of threats, including flu, measles, and RSV.
“It really supported infrastructure across the board, particularly in how states respond to public health threats,” said Susan Kansagra, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
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