Federal judge orders HHS to restore $12 million in grants to American Academy of Pediatrics

A federal judge has ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to restore $12 million in grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics, after the funding was cut last month.

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Beryl Howell, an Obama appointee, granted a preliminary injunction late Sunday that will restore the grants and block the cuts from taking effect while the case continues, The Hill news outlet reported.  

Howell said that the department had a likely “retaliatory motive” for terminating the funds, due to the AAP’s outspoken opposition to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“This 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,” Howell wrote. “This 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.”

AAP, the nation’s largest professional organization for pediatricians, said the canceled grants funded initiatives such as preventing sudden unexpected infant death, improving early detection of developmental disabilities and birth defects, and strengthening pediatric care in rural communities.

The grants make up nearly two-thirds of AAP’s federal funding, and if the cuts were allowed to take effect, they would have forced the organization to lay off about 10% of its staff.

The group's lawsuit alleged the cuts were made in retaliation for the group speaking out against the Trump administration’s positions and actions, including changes to vaccine policy and transgender procedures for minors.

AAP also alleged HHS violated the First Amendment by attempting to chill its speech on vaccines and other public health issues that differ from the views of HHS leadership.

HHS said that the grants were cut because they no longer aligned with its priorities. The department said it was protecting taxpayers from waste, and criticized the AAP for hiring progressive-aligned legal organization Democracy Forward.

Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman said the ruling “sends a clear message: no 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.”