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An internal HHS official flagged “identity-based language,” referencing a line discussing “racism and poverty.”
By Sharon Zhang ,
December 18, 2025
The Department of Health and Human Services has cut millions in dollars in grants from a leading children’s health association after the group criticized Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s unscientific policies.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) was informed this week that the Trump administration was terminating seven grants awarded by federal agencies, The Washington Post first reported, jeopardizing initiatives on topics such as infant death prevention.
“The sudden withdrawal of these funds will directly impact and potentially harm infants, children, youth, and their families in communities across the United States,” said Mark Del Monte, AAP CEO and executive vice president, in a statement to the Washington Post.
“This vital work spanned multiple child health priorities, including reducing sudden infant death, rural access to health care, mental health, adolescent health, supporting children with birth defects, early identification of autism, and prevention of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, among other topics,” Del Monte told the Post.
The group said it is considering legal action to challenge the cuts.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) was informed this week that the Trump administration was terminating seven grants awarded by federal agencies, The Washington Post first reported, jeopardizing initiatives on topics such as infant death prevention.
“The sudden withdrawal of these funds will directly impact and potentially harm infants, children, youth, and their families in communities across the United States,” said Mark Del Monte, AAP CEO and executive vice president, in a statement to the Washington Post.
“This vital work spanned multiple child health priorities, including reducing sudden infant death, rural access to health care, mental health, adolescent health, supporting children with birth defects, early identification of autism, and prevention of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, among other topics,” Del Monte told the Post.
The group said it is considering legal action to challenge the cuts.
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AAP has previously broken with RFK Jr over his dangerous vaccine policy and is suing him, along with other groups, for his changes that the groups call an “assault on science, public health and evidence-based medicine.”
Lawmakers have introduced hundreds of dangerous anti-science bills introduced in statehouses around the country this year, and measles outbreaks in South Carolina, Utah, and Arizona demonstrate the impacts of anti-vaccine misinformation spread by RFK Jr and his fellow conspiracy theorists.
The administration targeted AAP’s and other organization’s grants that were awarded for reasons that “no longer align” with HHS’s priorities, a spokesperson said.
Internal documentation reported by the Post shows that a top HHS official, political appointee James Miller, had ordered the grants terminated on Tuesday in an email to fellow officials.
One termination letter targeting a grant to study birth defects and infant disorders flagged “identity-based language” because of material in AAP applications and award documents that are “not aligned with current [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and HHS priorities.”
This included language like “the health of pregnant and postpartum people,” “disparities caused by racism and poverty are only exacerbated during emergencies,” and ensuring inclusion of “diverse perspectives into clinical care and public health materials.”
“These elements are not incidental; they are woven through the title, narrative and work plans of your organization’s award project and define your organization’s project’s objective framework,” wrote Jamie Legier, CDC grant services director, in the letter obtained by the Post.
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