The nation is currently grappling with a widespread outbreak of explosive diarrhea, linked to a parasite that the CDC ceased federal surveillance of in July 2025. This decision coincided with the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce funding for federal health and science agencies, impacting crucial programs like FoodNet, which previously tracked eight foodborne pathogens, including cyclospora. Now, with FoodNet’s surveillance drastically reduced to only two diseases, states are facing their own outbreaks and acknowledging that without federal support, their ability to monitor these threats is compromised, potentially leaving the public more vulnerable.
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Beginning the week of February 9, the Trump administration initiated cuts to $600 million in funding designated for HIV and STD prevention and tracking in California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota. These suspensions of grants to public health agencies, hospitals, NGOs, and universities will impact critical research, outbreak monitoring, and pre-exposure prophylaxis programs. The Department of Health and Human Services stated the cuts reflect shifting agency priorities, though attorneys general in the affected states have filed suit, alleging the actions are retaliatory for state resistance to the administration’s immigration agenda and unconstitutional interference.
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Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C., are suing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the unlawful rescission of $12 billion in public health funding. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to halt the cuts, which will reportedly eliminate crucial public health services and cost thousands of healthcare jobs. The states argue that the funds, while initially allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic, supported long-term public health infrastructure and were not solely for pandemic response. The plaintiffs contend that HHS lacks the authority to unilaterally rescind congressionally appropriated funds, thereby undermining the legislative branch’s power.
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John Q. Hosedrinker