Judge blocks Trump administration from cutting $600 million

A federal judge in Chicago temporarily blocked ​on Thursday the Trump administration from moving ahead with $600 million in cuts to ​public health grants in four states led by ​Democrats. U.S. District Judge ⁠Manish Shah said that California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota were likely ​to succeed in ‌a lawsuit alleging the funding cuts were meant to retaliate against the states for their ​perceived opposition to federal immigration enforcement policies. Shah’s order prevents the federal government from moving ahead with the disputed funding cuts ‌for ‌14 days while ​the lawsuit continues to play out in court. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, sought to protect grant funding, administered through the Centers for Disease ​Control and Prevention, that is used to monitor health threats, respond to disease outbreaks, and plan for public health emergencies. The ​affected programs include those supporting HIV prevention and surveillance. The Department of Health and Human Services, w

hich oversees CDC spending, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. U.S. President Donald ‌Trump has repeatedly attempted to withhold funding from Democratic-led states, though the cuts have been blocked by lower court ⁠judges. A judge last ​month temporarily stopped the Trump administration from freezing five Democratic-led states' access to more than $10 billion of federal funds for childcare ⁠and family assistance ⁠based on what the ⁠administration said were concerns about fraud. Trump last month warned so-called “sanctuary cities or states” that he would begin halting funding in February, ⁠saying their policies foment “fraud and crime and all of the other problems ​that come.”