Minnesota Department of Health reacts to termination of federal COVID-19 grants

The Minnesota Department of Health released a statement on Wednesday, March 26 in response to the termination of nearly $226 million in federal grants related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The department described the grant termination as “sudden and unexpected”.

At this time, the department is still determining what the full impact of the cuts will be.

The full statement is as follows:

We learned yesterday that the federal government has unilaterally terminated approximately $226 million in grants to Minnesota Department of Health related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This termination is effective immediately and impacts ongoing work and contracts. This action was sudden and unexpected.

Abrupt terminations of grants and contracts is unprecedented and will impact our work and that of our partners. Every dollar rescinded had been thoroughly reviewed and approved for its intended purpose by the federal government. In the past we could count on the federal government to uphold its commitments and obligations. When changes are necessary, the federal government typically gives sufficient notice to plan and pursue other sources of funding to ensure that the work to protect the health of Minnesotans continues uninterrupted and does not put our residents at risk.

It will take time to figure out all of the impacts of this action, but these cuts are a tremendous loss–made worse by the uncertainty and chaos that our federal partners have introduced into this process. We will continue to assess the situation and communicate impacts as we learn more.