{"id":408395,"date":"2026-01-14T09:58:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T09:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/408395\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T09:58:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T09:58:23","slug":"judge-orders-hhs-to-restore-funding-for-childrens-health-programs-as-lawsuit-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/408395\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge orders HHS to restore funding for children\u2019s health programs as lawsuit continues"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore nearly $12 million in funding to the American Academy of Pediatrics<\/a>, including money for rural health care and the early identification of disabilities in young children.\n <\/p>\n

\n U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., awarded the preliminary injunction<\/a> late Sunday, siding with AAP in saying evidence showed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services<\/a> likely had a \u201cretaliatory motive\u201d when it terminated grants to the pediatric group in December.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThis is not a case about whether AAP or HHS is right or even has the better position on vaccinations and gender-affirming care for children, or any other public health policy,\u201d Howell wrote in her decision. \u201cThis is a case about whether the federal government has exercised power in a manner designed to chill public health policy debate by retaliating against a leading and generally trusted pediatrician member professional organization focused on improving the health of children.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The seven grants terminated in December supported numerous public health programs, including efforts to prevent sudden unexpected infant death, strengthen pediatric care in rural communities and support teens facing substance use and mental health challenges.\n <\/p>\n

\n AAP alleged the cuts were made in retaliation for the group speaking out against the Trump administration\u2019s positions and actions. HHS said in letters to AAP that the grants were cut because they no longer aligned with the department\u2019s priorities. The department has denied<\/a> AAP\u2019s allegations of retaliation.\n <\/p>\n

\n AAP has been vocal about its support for pediatric vaccines and has publicly opposed HHS positions. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. \u2014 who helped lead the anti-vaccine movement for years \u2014 has made sweeping changes to childhood vaccine recommendations<\/a>. Last year, the pediatrics group released its own<\/a> recommendations on COVID-19 vaccines, which substantially diverged from the government\u2019s guidance.\n <\/p>\n

\n The group also supports access to gender-affirming care<\/a> and has publicly criticized HHS positions on the topic, saying it opposes what it calls the government\u2019s infringements on the doctor-patient relationship.\n <\/p>\n

\n Explaining her decision, Howell said that AAP had shown it would likely suffer irreparable harm from the cuts. She also said the group had shown the public interest was in its favor in allowing the programs to continue as the lawsuit plays out.\n <\/p>\n

\n Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is representing AAP in the lawsuit, said the ruling shows that \u201cno administration gets to silence doctors, undermine public health, or put kids at risk, and we will not stop fighting until this unlawful retaliation is fully ended.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n A spokesperson for HHS and attorneys representing the department declined comment.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore nearly $12 million in funding to the American…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408396,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-408395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}