American Academy of Pediatrics loses HHS funding after criticizing RFK Jr. [View all]

Source: Washington Post

December 17, 2025 at 2:17 p.m. EST


The Department of Health and Human Services has terminated seven grants totaling millions of dollars to the American Academy of Pediatrics, including for initiatives on reducing sudden infant deaths, improving adolescent health, preventing fetal alcohol syndrome and identifying autism early, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

The abrupt loss of funds this week surprised the professional pediatrician association, which has been one of the harshest critics of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s changes to federal vaccine policy.

“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, AAP’s chief executive and executive vice president, said in a statement to The Post. The organization is exploring options to push back, he said, including a legal challenge.

Administration officials cited a range of reasons for cutting off the funding to AAP, including the group’s use of “identity-based language,” including references to racial disparities and “pregnant people,” and insufficient focus in at least one grant program on nutrition and chronic disease prevention, which they said runs afoul of HHS’s priorities.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/12/17/aap-hhs-funding-rfk/