"Capitol Police officers arrested 13 HIV/AIDS activists on Thursday while they protested the Trump administration's cuts to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), an HIV-prevention program that has saved around 26 million lives since its inception in 2003."
"A press release issued Thursday by Housing Works and Health GAP accused the Trump administration of withholding over $977 million in congressionally approved PEPFAR funding during 2025 - three times the amount of unspent funds than at the end of 2024, the final year of former President Joe Biden's presidential term."
"Banners hung from the rotunda's second floor read, 'Hands off PEPFAR;' 'Trump and Vought kill people with AIDS worldwide,' a reference to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought; and 'Over 200,000 deaths since January 2025,' a reference to an estimated number of people killed by HIV-related illnesses following PEPFAR cuts."
Thirteen HIV/AIDS activists from Housing Works, Health GAP, and the Treatment Action Group were arrested during a protest at the Cannon House Office Building Rotunda against Trump administration cuts to PEPFAR. The protesters displayed banners and chanted slogans opposing the $4.9 billion in cuts to HIV/AIDS prevention and foreign aid health programs directed by Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought. According to advocacy groups, the administration withheld over $977 million in congressionally approved PEPFAR funding in 2025, triple the unspent funds from 2024. The groups estimate over 200,000 deaths from HIV-related illnesses resulted from these cuts, with PEPFAR funding for CDC-overseen programs expected to deplete by April 1.
#hivaids-activism #pepfar-funding-cuts #trump-administration-policy #capitol-protest #global-health-advocacy
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