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 childrens health group called a retaliatory move. Related Kennedy kills $18 million in child healthcare grants amid HHS attacks on gender-affirming care U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C. agreed, restoring a portion of the funding as AAPs 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. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today 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.Trump administration officials cited a range of reasons for the grant funding cuts, including AAPs use of identity-based languageand references to racial disparities and pregnant people. Butthe cuts followed intense criticism by the AAP of Kennedys changes to federal vaccine policy. The AAP is also a staunch supporter of gender-affirming care for trans youth.The AAP joined a chorus of condemnation last year over Kennedys decision to stop recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for children, as well as Kennedys firing of the Centers for Disease Controls panel of independent vaccine advisors Kennedy replaced them with a hand-picked panel of vaccine skeptics.The majority of what weve seen from the secretary has been a pretty clearly orchestrated strategy to sow distrust in vaccines, Sean OLeary, a physician who heads the AAPs infectious-diseases committee,toldThe Washington Post last summer. We make our recommendations based on whats in the best interest of the health of children.In response, Kennedyblasted AAPs financial tiesto pharmaceutical companies, demanding the organization disclose its corporate entanglements and conflicts of interest so that Americans may ask whether the AAPs recommendations reflect public health interest, or are, perhaps, just a pay-to-play scheme to promote commercial ambitions of AAPs Big Pharma benefactors.The funding withdrawal came at the same time Kennedy announced that hospitals across the U.S. would lose Medicare and Medicaid funding if they provided any form of gender-affirming care to trans minors. The seven terminated grants for AAP supported public health programs to prevent sudden unexpected infant death, strengthen pediatric care in rural communities, and help teenagers facing substance abuse and mental health challenges, among others.The sudden withdrawal of these funds will directly impact and potentially harm infants, children, youth, and their families in communities across the United States, Mark Del Monte, AAPs chief executive and executive vice president, said then.Judge Howell wrote in her decision that AAP had shown it would likely suffer irreparable harm from the cuts, and the group had shown that the public interest was in favor of allowing the AAPs programs to continue as their lawsuit moves forward. Once again, we took the administration to court to defend children, communities, and the Constitutionand once again, we won, saidSkye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, the legal group representing AAP.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.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.