Letter to the editor: Democrats save NC from Trump health cuts

Letter reprinted from the Brunswick Beacon, 09.18.25

In March, Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services canceled nearly 700 congressionally-approved grants nationwide, worth $11 billion. The funds were used to vaccinate people, reduce health disparities between urban and rural communities, upgrade outdated systems for detecting infectious disease outbreaks and hire community health workers. Federal funding accounts for over half of state and local health department budgets, according to KFF Health News.

Ironically, Trump’s cuts have had vastly uneven effects depending on a state’s political leanings. That’s because 23 Democratic-led states, including North Carolina, sued Trump in federal court and blocked the cuts. On average, those Democratic-led states got nearly 80% of Trump’s cuts restored. As a result, four of the five states with the most canceled grants are Republican-led: Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma and Ohio.

NC recovered 83% of Trump’s cuts, which saved you $230 million. Trump’s cuts impacted a wide range of health services across NC. If Trump had his way, local health programs in 77 of NC’s 86 health departments — especially those in rural areas — would have lost funding, along with community health workers aiding Hurricane Helene survivors.

With the support of Gov. Josh Stein, Attorney General Jeff Jackson joined the Democratic-led suit against Trump’s cuts. “My job is to be a shield for the people of North Carolina — and that includes protecting their health care. The federal government can’t just cancel nearly a quarter billion dollars that have already been congressionally allocated to our state. It’s unlawful — and dangerous,” said Jackson.

A Trump-appointed federal judge agreed, ruling that Trump could not arbitrarily refuse to spend money that had been lawfully appropriated by Congress. She said Trump’s cuts would cause “irreparable harm” and blocked them, adding, “Agencies do not have unfettered power to further a president’s agenda.”

NC won because we elected Democrats as governor and attorney general. Next year, let’s defeat Rep. David Rouzer and elect Democrat Roy Cooper to the U.S. Senate.

Michael Maisel

Sunset Beach