When “Priorities” Means Punishment: What’s Really Behind CDC’s $600 Million Cuts

California hit hardest, many cuts related to HIV/STD grants and DEI

On Monday, February 9, 2026, the Trump administration quietly told Congress it planned to rescind roughly $600 million in CDC public health grants, money that had already been awarded and was already flowing into state and local health departments. The cuts were framed as a shift in “priorities,” away from “population-specific” and “health equity” progr…