The Trump administration is rescinding hundreds of millions of dollars from Maryland’s government, nonprofits and academic institutions in its latest cuts to health-related grants.
On Monday, the White House released a list of contracts it terminated, which encompassed the Maryland Department of Health, Johns Hopkins University and The University of Maryland System.
“The United States Government spends too much money on programs, contracts, and grants that do not promote the interests of the American people,” President Donald Trump wrote in a February executive order titled Radical Transparency About Wasteful Spending. “I therefore direct the heads of executive departments and agencies to take all appropriate actions to make public, to the maximum extent permitted by law and as the heads of agencies deem appropriate to promote the policies of my Administration, the complete details of every terminated program, cancelled contract, terminated grant, or any other discontinued obligation of Federal funds.”
Maryland’s health agencies look to lose more than $350 million, while institutions like Johns Hopkins University will lose close to $10 million.
About 50 contracts and grants held by the state government and Maryland institutions were terminated under the executive order.
All of the contracts in Maryland and nationwide were related to minority health, HIV, transgender care, vaccines and COVID research.
Maryland’s largest cuts come in the form of the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases program, which helps respond, prevent and track infectious diseases.
“Eliminating funding for public health infectious disease research is going to make us less prepared for the next pandemic,” said Chris Myer, a research analyst for the Maryland Center on Economic Policy. “It can make it harder for people to manage symptoms of HIV.”
Other cuts to state funding include block grants to mental health and addiction services.
Academic cuts were more targeted to specific studies.
One canceled study at Johns Hopkins looked at improving the uptake of the flu vaccine for people with chronic kidney disease.
Another looked at how Mpox is spread in communities.
One University of Maryland study was looking at how COVID’s airborne infectiousness is changing through the air.
Other studies canceled included tests for HIV medications, research on violence against LGBTQ people and work on structural racism.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced Tuesday he is suing the White House over the cuts.
“The Trump Administration’s reckless and unlawful termination of $11 billion in critical public health grants is a dangerous assault on our State’s ability to protect our residents when infectious diseases like the measles or bird flu are on the rise,” Brown said. “I am outraged that the president would cut this lifeline with zero warning, threatening to dismantle vital health services our communities depend on. I will fight with every legal tool available to reverse this indefensible decision before it costs Marylanders their lives.”
Twenty two other attorneys general are joining Brown.
Johns Hopkins and other universities are already taking cost saving measures to deal with potential lost funding due to the Trump administration.
JHU has already started layoffs and is planning to cut about 2,000 positions.
Maryland is also concerned about federal funding cuts writ large. The General Assembly is currently working on its budget and is considering adding a trigger mechanism into it.
That mechanism would dictate that if federal cuts hit more than $1 billion then the state would freeze some funding and have to come up with a plan to save money.
