The Department of Government Efficiency is cutting nearly half a billion dollars from organizations in Kentucky. The DOGE website shows over $424 million in cuts across Kentucky.
State officials have been notified of these cuts. On Thursday, Governor Beshear said there is little legal ground for DOGE to stand on with the cuts.
“We have received notice of grants being canceled. It’s an unlawful cancellation and we’ll challenge it. These are contracts that we have. The contracts can only be terminated for cause, which means somebody did something wrong, and they’re trying to define cause as the pandemic’s over. It’s not a legal argument, and if we have to go to court, we will.”
The governor said he is worried about the cuts because of the people who will be out of work due to the changes, but also because many of these cuts are to healthcare agencies. This comes at a time when cases of bird flu and measles are rising across parts of the country.
The DOGE website shows 11 grants cut from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, with a combined total value of over $405 million.
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services issued a statement about the cuts stating:
“The Cabinet for Health and Family Services has received funding termination notices for multiple COVID-related grants. We have been notified that updated notices are pending with the federal government. We are actively reviewing those we have received and awaiting the updates.”
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