A Big Win

Trying to cut funding to a medical association Trump & Company got their hand slapped.

Pro-trans pediatric group wins $12 million as judge slams Kennedy’s “retaliatory” cuts

The American Academy of Pediatrics will get their grants back as lawsuit moves forward.

LGBTQ Nation

Greg Owen

January 14, 2026

A U.S. District Court judge sided with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) late Sunday night in a ruling that temporarily restores $12 million in funding to the group.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy abruptly cancelled previously awarded grants worth $18 million to AAP in December, in what the children’s health group called a “retaliatory move.”

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C. agreed, restoring a portion of the funding as AAP’s lawsuit against the Trump administration plays out.

“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 in her decision.

“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,” the judge continued.

Just a small win in a small skirmish in a larger battle.

“The court shut down a dangerous attempt to use federal funding as a political weapon and punish pediatricians for speaking the truth,” Perryman said. “This 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.”

You are damn if you do and damn if you don't. The problem with taking federal funding is that you become addicted to the funding. The Hill writes, 

The grants represent almost two-thirds of AAP’s federal funding, and if allowed to take effect, would have forced the organization to lay off about ten percent of its staff. 

AAP in its 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 gender-affirming care for minors.  

When you accept government funding there are strings attached  but the court ruled that those strings cannot be cut for them speaking out against Trump and RFK Jr.,