President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told reporters Wednesday they had no knowledge that their own department restored $27.5 million in federal grants to Planned Parenthood last month.
“I don’t know anything about that,” Trump told White House correspondent Reagan Reese on January 14. Kennedy added “I have not heard that.” The American Civil Liberties Union had dropped its lawsuit the day before, citing restoration of all withheld Title X family planning grants.
The Department of Health and Human Services released the frozen funds in December without public announcement. Government attorneys filed a status report December 19 stating the grants had been restored. HHS froze the funds last spring during an investigation into potential violations of federal civil rights laws and President Trump’s executive orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The December 19 HHS letter stated the organizations had shown compliance with federal civil rights laws. No violations were announced. No disciplinary actions were taken. The investigation affecting 865 service sites across nearly two dozen states concluded without findings.
Pro-life leaders reacted with fury. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins told a Capitol Hill press conference Tuesday that “there appears to be more to that story than what we’re seeing in the press,” suggesting “some legal maneuvering there that would put the administration in a stronger position.” He is “waiting to pass judgment.”
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America called for reinstating the “Protect Life Rule” from Trump’s first term, which prevented abortion providers from receiving Title X funds. “The Protect Life Rule from the 1st Trump admin stopped Big Abortion businesses from using Title X taxpayer $$ as a slush fund. Biden canceled it. The Trump admin must immediately reinstate it.”
Live Action founder Lila Rose stated “The Trump administration has quietly restored millions of dollars in Title X grants to Planned Parenthood that it had withheld since March of 2025. PP kills 1,102 babies daily with your taxpaying dollars.”
Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins proposed “debarment” to ban Planned Parenthood from all federal programs and called for “a full DOGE experience, of evaluating them for fraud and for all the allegations of failure to report sex crimes or operating a racist work environment.”
The Title X restoration is separate from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act provision that cut Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood for one year. That provision took effect July 4, 2025, was temporarily blocked, then reinstated September 11, 2025. The Trump administration continues defending the Medicaid cut in court.
Planned Parenthood receives over $700 million in taxpayer funding annually and performed 402,230 abortions in its latest reporting period. Federal law prohibits taxpayer dollars from directly funding abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother’s life.
Perkins’ reference to “legal maneuvering” points to suspicion the administration avoided an adverse court ruling that would limit executive power to freeze grants in future abortion funding fights.
Trump promised to defund Planned Parenthood. He signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act cutting Medicaid funding. He issued executive orders banning DEI programs that justified freezing the grants. His own HHS restored the funds without his knowledge, according to his own statement.
The ACLU won. Pro-life groups feel betrayed. Trump and Kennedy claim surprise. The March for Life rally is January 23.
Support Independent Local Journalism — High Country Advocate was created as a real alternative to regional media that too often silences dissenting voices while taking sides in the political struggle. Producing in-depth, unflinching reporting like this series and others is expensive: servers, editing, research time, and legal review all add up quickly. If these articles have informed you or given you new perspective, please consider supporting HCA with a paid subscription — every subscriber helps keep this reporting strong and independent. 