MDH Layoffs In Limbo As Judge Blocks Trump Admin Grant Cuts

ST. PAUL, MN — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from cutting billions in public health funding nationwide, including more than $220 million earmarked for the Minnesota Department of Health.

The restraining order sparked a cautious note of optimism from the head of MDH, who earlier this week announced mass layoffs and warned that the sudden loss of funding would severely disrupt vital health services across the state.

"This is a bright spot amidst what have been some very dark days in public health," Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Brooke Cunningham said in a statement on Friday.

"The evidence put forward by Minnesota, 22 other states and the District of Columbia, clearly demonstrated the harm this reckless grant termination poses for Minnesotans and our public health infrastructure."

Cunningham said the MDH is not out of the woods yet, noting that "this is a temporary order, so the future is not yet certain."

"We will once again have to take some time to figure out what this fully means for the critical services we provide, our community partners, and most importantly, the staff that have received layoff notices," Cunningham added.

"A temporary restraining order does not guarantee immediate access to federal funds, and there will be additional hearings, so we must continue to monitor and assess the situation."

170 Laid Off Tuesday

The Minnesota Department of Health on Tuesday sent layoff and separation notices to 170 employees whose positions were funded by recently terminated federal grants.

Additionally, "at risk" notices were slated to hit MDH staff at risk for layoffs due to seniority rules around layoffs, officials said. A total of about 300 various notices went to MDH employees on Tuesday.

And about 20 employees slated to start with the department in the last week have had their offers rescinded, according to officials.

The layoffs are a direct consequence of the "unprecedented and unexpected action" by the Trump administration last week to cut more than $220 million in previously approved federal funding for the state, MDH said.

The layoffs will impact services across the agency, according to health officials, including those that support the state’s response to measles and H5N1, wastewater surveillance, the state’s public health laboratory, and community clinics and vaccination efforts

MDH said the impact of the cuts includes:

• Significantly reduced support for nursing homes, including funding for HVAC upgrades and staff training around disease prevention, as well as support for county jails and other congregate settings.
• Slower response times to infectious disease outbreaks.
• Immediate suspension of partner-led vaccine clinics and emergency preparedness activities.
• Reduced laboratory support for hospitals and health care systems that could delay lab results and patient care.
• An inability to upgrade the Minnesota Immunization Information Connection, the state’s immunization information system, which means it will remain outdated.
• Suspension of the INSPIRE Program, a program to get middle and high school students excited about and interested in public health.
• Reduced funding for Tribal Public Health.

Nationwide impact

Last week, the Trump administration rescinded $11.4 billion in COVID-19-related funding for state and local public health departments and health organizations nationwide.

Following the news last week, the Minneapolis Health Department announced it must immediately shut down its free vaccination clinics and halt all immunization outreach.

The federal grants to Minnesota and other states were used to fund things as infectious disease tracking, immunization clinics, mental health services, addiction treatment, and other emerging health needs.

State health departments began receiving notices about a week ago that funds allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic would stop immediately, according to the story first reported by NBC News.

The action cancels an $11.4 billion grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and around $1 billion from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“No additional activities can be conducted, and no additional costs may be incurred, as it relates to these funds,” the notices said.

HHS Cuts 10,000 Workers

The cuts to states were a prelude to sweeping changes to the Department of Human Services. Last week, the Trump administration said about 10,000 HHS employees would be laid off under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s planned agency reorganization, a move which the administration said will save taxpayers $1.8 billion per year.

HHS oversees 13 agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug and Administration, and the National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy said the 28 divisions within the 13 agencies overseen by HHS will be consolidated into 15 to eliminate duplications of work.

“We will eliminate an entire alphabet soup of departments, while preserving their core functions by merging them into a new organization called the Administration for Healthy America or AHA,” Kennedy wrote on X.

About 2,400 CDC employees will be cut. Divisions that will be eliminated include those focused on global health, domestic HIV prevention, and prevention from injury, such as gun violence, NBC News reported.

When combined with HHS’ other efforts, the restructuring results in a total downsizing from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees, according to a news release announcing the cuts.

As part of the makeover, Kennedy plans to create a new division, the Administration for a Healthy America, which will be known by the acronym AHA, the news release said.

The cuts are in addition to the 10,000 people who took buyout offers and left on their own after President Donald Trump took office.

Those cuts are on top of what is expected to be a wave of public health staff layoffs across the country as federal grant funding is cut off.

“The reality is that, when we take funding away from public health systems, the systems just do not have the capacity, because they’re chronically underfunded over the decades,” said Dr. Umair Shah, who served as Washington State’s health secretary until January, told The New York Times.