Illinois, other states sue Trump administration over HIV cuts
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A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Thursday in Illinois' lawsuit against the Trump administration over $600 million in cuts to HIV prevention and other public health programs.
Why it matters: Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado and California say the administration's retaliatory funding cuts are politically motivated.
- The complaint alleges Illinois will lose $100 million in funding, particularly for programs that serve people living with HIV, including interventions for high-risk populations, and the state's system that tracks the spread of HIV.
- The $600 million in funding would affect other public health programs such as poison control, according to the lawsuit, and cut nearly 100 Illinois public health workers' jobs.
The latest: Judge Manish S. Shah ruled that the states "have shown that they would suffer irreparable harm from the agency action." The injunction is active for two weeks.
Zoom in: New HIV diagnoses are increasing in Chicago, AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) president and CEO John Peller tells Axios, rising from 727 people in 2023 to 818 in 2024.
- Peller called the cuts "a continuation of this administration's racist, homophobic and transphobic agenda," as new HIV cases have impacted Latino men who have sex with men, Black men who have sex with men, Black women and transgender women of color.
The other side: Axios reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services and the White House but didn't receive a response.
Context: This latest lawsuit is one of dozens Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and other states have brought against the Trump administration over cuts they say are driven by the states' opposition to the administration's policies on immigration enforcement, gender-affirming care and green energy.
- The states have been successful in many of those complaints, with judges blocking the funding cuts.
Reality check: "In some ways damage will be done even if the funding is restored, as people will see headlines that HIV prevention is cut or HIV funding is eliminated, and it gives them a reason not to get tested," Peller tells Axios.
- "It's already the case that stigma, lack of access to health care, medical mistrust, and other structural factors make getting testing and PrEP [a] challenge — and that's what these funds Trump is illegally withholding help us to address."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with news of a federal judge's temporary restraining order against the funding cuts.