The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention terminated $42 million in healthcare funding in Minnesota, affecting the Public Health Infrastructure Block Grant and Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health programs.
Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a restraining order temporarily blocking the cuts along with the states of Illinois, Colorado and California, which are also targeted by healthcare cuts. The restraining order is effective through March 12.
PHIG awarded a total of $5.1 billion across all 50 states in healthcare funds as of Dec. 2025. According to the CDC website, the grants are meant to “invest in people, services and systems that can address their communities’ most pressing needs, improve fundamental skills and capabilities, and build a stronger foundation nationwide.”
The cuts to these grants will impact the following: PHIG, CDC Prevention Research Centers, Injury Prevention and Control, HIV and STI Prevention, the CDC Climate and Health Program and REACH programs. PHIG, partially or in full, funds 57 Minnesota Department of Health staff members. MDH Commissioner Damōn Chaplin estimated 12% of staff may be affected by these cuts, 160-180 jobs.
“We would be looking for replacement grants for the PHIG grants,” Chaplin said. “It’s a process that we normally go through, just that we have fewer options to pick from at this point.”
The Minnesota Department of Health labeled it “the latest development in the federal government’s ongoing campaign of retribution against Minnesota,” in a press release in February. The cuts come from the wave of Operation Metro Surge, with an economic impact of $203.1 million.
“These cuts by the federal government, and other cuts to public health funding over the past year, highlight a total disregard for promoting health and wellbeing,” Commissioner Brooke Cunningham said. “The ongoing cuts create an environment of chaos and confusion for communities.”
The Minneapolis Health Department created a leadership group in 2025 in reaction to the potential diversity and equity-related funding cuts. MDH now uses the plan to help with the recent cuts made to healthcare programs. Chaplin said the goal was to aim for a soft landing regarding funding cuts within positions.
“We put together that plan that held a set of criteria that we would look at in the eventuality that some of these grants were canceled,” Chaplin said.
Funding cuts will affect health departments at the state and local levels. While Hennepin County Public Health already spent money awarded through PHIG and had not received funding through REACH, they emphasized the importance of federal funding to public health. They further acknowledged that they have had to adjust funding changes previously.
“We also know these changes do not happen in a vacuum,” a Hennepin County spokesperson said. “The loss of funding will affect our partners at the Minnesota Department of Health and our local public health partners. That in turn could affect Hennepin County Public Health and our residents, directly and indirectly.”
State and county grants cannot be used to recover funding from cuts to PHIG. The cuts could be detrimental to public health infrastructure in Minnesota. In Mar. 2025, over $200 million in grants were cut to MDH in COVID-19 funding. MDH Deputy Commissioner Wendy Underwood said while the state won the money back in a nationwide lawsuit, they had to pause vital healthcare work while the case was in process.
“The cancellation of federal public health grants puts people at risk because it would make it harder for us to do our job of protecting, maintaining, and improving health for all people in Minnesota,” Underwood said.
In conjunction with California, Colorado and Illinois, the Office of Management and Budget is cutting $600 million in grant funds to the four states. Originally meant to last through Feb. 26, the restraining order was extended through March 12. PHIG funds healthcare systems across all 50 states. Only these four states are experiencing funding cuts.
Ellison filed the temporary restraining order, along with the attorneys general of the other targeted states. They cited the cuts as violating the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act. The act is meant to govern how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.
The Trump administration cut $4 billion in medical research funding to scientific institutions. In the 2026 proposed budget, $31 billion in cuts were requested for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Most recently, the administration paused $242 million in Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota.
“The president is supposed to represent and serve all Americans, and it is unspeakably tragic that President Trump has instead decided to deliberately inflict pain and suffering on Minnesotans,” Ellison said in a press release. “As long as President Trump’s campaign of revenge and retribution goes on, I will do everything in my power to protect the people of Minnesota from his lawless actions.”
Correction: A previous version of the article had a comment from Chaplin that referred to finding smaller grants to replace PHIG. This is incorrect – state and federal funding cannot be used to recover cuts to PHIG. This comment has been clarified for accuracy.
