The C.D.C. delivered $750 million annually to state and local health departments for emergency work. The program was eliminated in the Trump administration’s budget blueprint.
St. Louis has been battered by two tornadoes in the past two months. A fire shut down a new nursing home last month in Enterprise, Ala., forcing residents to evacuate. Cleveland grappled with a power outage while inundated with visitors for the N.C.A.A. women’s basketball Final Four.
In each case, local health officials played a key role in containing the fallout, assisting hospitals, finding new homes for displaced residents, and coordinating efforts with fire, police and other city departments.
The funding for this work, about $735 million in total, comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In President Trump’s proposed budget, the money has been zeroed out.
The proposed cut has left health officials increasingly alarmed, particularly since it followed $12 billion in cuts to state and local health departments in March. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have sued to prevent the reductions.
The New York Times
By Apoorva Mandavilli
May 9, 2025