Democratic-led states sue to stop Trump from withholding $600M in health grants

Four Democratic-led states that have become frequent targets of President Donald Trump sued Wednesday to try to block his administration from cutting off hundreds of millions in public health grants.

The Department of Health and Human Services told Congress on Monday that it planned to withhold about $600 million in grant funding allocated to the four states: California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota. Their attorneys general argue the cuts are backlash for the states’ opposition to Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The lawsuit says the cuts violate the Constitution by imposing retroactive conditions on funding and asks a federal court in Illinois to block them from taking effect.

Some grants could be terminated as soon as Thursday, and others in the coming weeks, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said.

Health officials have said the grants — several focused on LGBTQ+ people and communities of color — are “inconsistent with agency priorities” as the Trump administration has shifted away from supporting programs for specific populations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its priorities in September, dubbing health equity an “ideologically-laden” concept that "has undermined core American values.”

Health department officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.

The administration also plans to pull hundreds of millions in transportation funding from the same four states.

Courts have temporarily blocked similar efforts by the administration to restrict federal funds.

A judge last week ruled that, for now, the administration cannot cut off billions in child care subsidies and other social service programs for lower-income people in those four states plus New York.

Several of the largest planned health funding cuts are to programs aimed at preventing the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in Chicago and Los Angeles, with a focus on adolescents, ethnic minorities and gay men.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called the funding cuts “a slap in the face” to public health leaders who have stepped up as the Trump administration “takes a sledgehammer to public health infrastructure.”

The administration is also targeting a $7.2 million grant for the Chicago-based American Medical Association, noting its support for gender-affirming care for minors, which a Trump executive order opposes.

Other grants help the states track disease outbreaks and collect public health data that the CDC also uses.

California faces the largest share of the planned cuts, which Attorney General Rob Bonta said will “irreparably harm” public health in the state.

“President Trump is resorting to a familiar playbook. He is using federal funding to compel states and jurisdictions to follow his agenda," Bonta said. "Those efforts have all previously failed, and we expect that to happen once again.”

FILE - A sign marks the entrance to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

PHOENIX (AP) — Candace Parker, Elena Delle Donne, Chamique Holdsclaw and the 1996 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team will be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later this year.

Parker, Holdsclaw and members of the 1996 Olympic team were all in attendance as well as Amar’e Stoudemire and Mike D’Antoni.

They will be joined by longtime NBA official Joey Crawford, NBA coach Doc Rivers and Gonzaga coach Mark Few.

The group was announced at halftime of the women's Final Four with many members in attendance.

Parker won three titles in the WNBA with three teams: Los Angeles, Chicago and Las Vegas. She's the only player in league history to win both the MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season.

She also won two titles while playing in college for Tennessee under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, two Olympic gold medals and two WNBA MVP awards.

Delle Donne won two league MVP awards in 2015 and 2019, the second of which came when she led the Washington Mystics to their lone WNBA championship. Delle Donne became the first player in league history to shoot over 50% from the field, 40% from behind the 3-point line and 90% from the free throw line.

Holdsclaw won three straight titles at Tennessee from 1996-98, the first team to accomplish that. The 1998 championship was Tennessee’s first undefeated season at 39–0 and the Vols also set an NCAA record for the most wins in a season. Holdsclaw went on to an 11-year WNBA career.

Stoudemire, who was the only NBA player in this year's class, was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003 and six-time All-Star. He spent the first eight years of his career with the Phoenix Suns, where he teamed with D'Antoni.

Rivers got nearly 1,200 victories on his resume which puts him eighth on the all-time wins list. He led the Boston Celtics to the NBA championship in 2008 and was also in charge of the Los Angeles Clippers during their Lob City era.

Few has won over 770 games at Gonzaga in his career at the school. He set the NCAA Division I men's coaching record by winning 81 games in his first three years at the school.

Crawford officiated 2,561 regular-season NBA games and 50 Finals games over his 39-year career. He retired in 2016.

The enshrinement ceremony will take place in August at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

FILE - Tennessee's Candace Parker (3) passes around North Carolina's La'Tangela Atkinson in the first half of the NCAA college basketball tournament regional final, Tuesday, March 28, 2006, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)