DOGE says it’s cutting nearly $130M in federal grants to Kentucky

KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — New entries on the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) website reveal plans to cut millions of dollars in health and family services grants to the Commonwealth.

According to the agency efficiency leaderboard, DOGE reported cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services have generated the most savings.

As of March 24, DOGE has announced that 10 grants to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services will be terminated, amounting to $122,137,033 lost.

Additionally, two grants to the Kentucky Human Resources Cabinet and one to the University of Kentucky Research Foundation will be terminated, reportedly generating $5,557,809 in savings.

In a Thursday, March 27, Team Kentucky update, Gov. Andy Beshear called the grant terminations “unlawful.”

“We have received notice of grants being canceled,” Beshear said. “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 are trying to define cause as the pandemic. That’s not a legal argument.”

He said that if the funding is terminated, it could cause health clinics to close their doors.

“I am worried about the cuts,” Beshear said. “These are Americans; they have families. They chose to do civil service, and now they are being told that their services are no longer needed. Some of them are being told it’s their fault, which is not true.”

FOX 56 asked the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services for a statement on the DOGE notices and is waiting to hear back.