$600 million in Trump administration health care cuts will affect California’s HIV programs

WASHINGTON – Public health experts warned Tuesday that $600 million in public health funding cuts announced by the Trump administration will jeopardize one of California’s top HIV outbreak warning programs, leaving communities vulnerable to the spread of undetected infections.

The grant cuts affect funding for many disease control programs in California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota, but most go to California, according to congressional Democrats who received a full list of affected programs Monday. The move is the latest in a White House campaign against what it calls “radical gender ideology” at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“These cuts will undermine important efforts to prevent the spread of disease,” said Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). “It’s dangerous, and it’s intentional.”

Under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC has increasingly turned away from evidence-based HIV prevention and control programs, saying they “undermine core American values.”

The suspension will disrupt $1.1 million earmarked for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Project, according to the president’s budget office.

The program is an “important” tool used to detect emerging HIV trends, prevent outbreaks before they spread and reduce the incidence of HIV, said Dr. Paul Simon, an epidemiologist at the UCLA Fielding School and former chief scientific officer of the state’s public health department.

“Without this system, we don’t see clearly. The first step in dealing with any public health threat is to understand what’s happening on the ground,” said Simon. “With HIV in particular, people often have no symptoms for years and can spread the virus unknowingly.”

The White House offered little explanation for the move but said the programs it targets “promote DEI and strong gender stereotypes.”

Simon pushed back on the claim, calling the move “dangerous” and “short-sighted.”

“It is very dangerous to bury your head in the sand and pretend there is no problem,” said Simon. “The success we’ve had in the past decades comes from finding cases early. … By treating people early, we can avoid infection.”

Several key local service providers were targeted for cuts including the LGBT Center of Los Angeles, which will lose $383,000 in investment in community HIV prevention programs.

The LGBT Center has not received official notice of the cuts but said the cuts would disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ communities and other underserved citizens.

“These decisions are not guided by public health evidence, but by politics — and the consequences are real,” LGBT Center CEO Joe Holondoner said in a statement. “Any funding cuts directly affect our ability to provide care, prevention and life-saving services to the people who depend on us.”

The cuts announced by the Trump administration are likely to face challenges from states and grant recipients.

The LGBT Center succeeded last year in blocking the cancellation of similar grants due to the president’s orders. A federal judge in San Francisco issued the first ruling ruling that the administration could not use executive orders to “appropriate funds appropriated by Congress” to exceed statutory funding obligations.

“We are prepared to bring as many cases against these officers as necessary to protect our community,” Hollendoner said.

The White House has repeatedly pushed to stop the flow of billions of dollars to California and other Democratic-led states, a strategy that has fueled partisan tensions and widened the scope of California’s legal battle against the administration.

In January, administration officials said they would freeze $10 billion in child care, welfare and social services in California and four other states, but a federal judge blocked that effort.

Trump later said he would begin blocking federal funding to “sanctuary” states like California and Los Angeles, which have long opposed cooperation with immigration agencies.

Last year, the administration made sweeping cuts to federal funding for minority-serving institutions, leaving California colleges scrambling to figure out how to pay back or do without money. Government officials argued that such programs were racist.

In June, California’s Congressional Democrats demanded a $19.8 million bailout frozen HIV prevention grants at the LA County Department of Public Health. That freeze forced the county to cut contracts with 39 community health providers and nearly shut down HIV testing and other services at the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

Managers reverse course after constant pressure from Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank) and 22 other House Democrats.

“These grants save lives,” Friedman said of the recent termination. “They connect the homeless to care, support HIV organizations, and build public health infrastructure that protects the people I vote for. Just like I did the last time the Trump Administration followed our communities, I will not stop fighting.”

In a letter to Kennedy last year, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) said the Cabinet secretary has a history of selling lies about viruses and diseases.

Kennedy’s motives “are not based on sound science, but on the misinformation and disinformation you have previously spread about HIV and AIDS, including your repeated claims that HIV does not cause AIDS,” Garcia wrote.

Gov. Gavin Newsom called President Trump’s recent threats to public health funding a “typical pattern,” and cast doubt on their long-term legal validity.

“The President says he’s going to take away public health funding from the states that voted for him, but he doesn’t give any information or official notice,” Newsom said. “If and when the Trump administration takes action, we will respond appropriately. Until then, we will continue to participate in his pursuit of headlines.”