Overview
- U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah in Chicago issued a temporary restraining order blocking termination of the grants for 14 days and set a Feb. 18 status hearing.
- California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota sued to stop the rescissions, alleging politically motivated retaliation and violations of the Administrative Procedure Act.
- Shah wrote the states are likely to succeed and noted that recent statements plausibly suggest hostility to so‑called sanctuary jurisdictions as a driving rationale.
- The cuts followed a Feb. 5 OMB directive and a Feb. 10 HHS notice to Congress; HHS says the targeted awards do not reflect current agency priorities.
- The affected funding includes the Public Health Infrastructure Grant and HIV/STD surveillance and prevention programs, with California citing roughly $130 million at risk, Colorado about $22 million and Minnesota about $38 million in PHIG.