President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2025. (Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The $4 million in congressionally directed spending, Capitol Hill jargon for earmarks, was requested by Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured $3 million for Seattle Children's Hospital, which did not respond to a request for comment on how the funding might be used.
Murray told Fox News Digital the funding was meant "to provide a safe and comfortable space for kids in crisis, kids who may seriously harm themselves or take their own life."
"It has nothing to do with President Trump’s hateful crusade against transgender children," Murray said. "It’s disgusting to see a witch hunt against funding for a project that enjoys broad support from across the community — all Americans, regardless of political affiliation, understand that we need more investments to tackle the mental health crisis in this country."
The remaining $1 million is slated for Lurie Children's Hospital, which paused its transgender care for minors amid the Trump administration's ongoing investigation.
Durbin's office told Fox News Digital, "Senator Durbin is proud to have secured $1 million for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago to support the expansion of the new hospital-based violence recovery program, serving pediatric victims of violence with trauma-informed mental health and recovery services.
"We are fortunate to have the expertise of the professionals at Lurie Children’s applied to the complex challenges that too many children in Chicago are exposed to from community violence, child abuse, and mental health needs."
When asked for Trump's reaction to the $4 million in earmarks to the hospitals, White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital, "The American people gave President Trump a resounding mandate to restore common sense in America, and the Trump administration is exploring other tools to crack down on child mutilation procedures."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Jan. 29, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
"Under my leadership, and answering President Trump’s call to action, the federal government will do everything in its power to stop unsafe, irreversible practices that put our children at risk," Kennedy said in a press release in December.
A number of states, including Washington, have sued the Trump administration for its decision, arguing that HHS lacked the power to "substantively alter the standards of care and effectively ban, by fiat, an entire category of healthcare."
Despite the ongoing litigation, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) opened a probe into Seattle Children's activities in December.
The Lurie Children’s Hospital scaled back its transgender services in response to pressure from HHS earlier this year but has still come under recent scrutiny from the department.
HHS General Counsel Mike Stuart announced in a post on X last month that he had referred Lurie Children’s Hospital to OIG alongside four other hospitals for failing to protect "children from sex-rejecting procedures."
In response, Lurie Children's Hospital said it had paused its transgender care services for those under 18, according to statements made to local news outlets.
Health and Human Services Department Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington, Sept. 4, 2025. (Wi McNamee/Getty Images)
As listed on the earmarks, the $3 million in funding for Seattle Children’s Hospital would go toward "facilities and equipment to construct a behavioral health stabilization unit."
The $1 million in funding for Lurie Children’s would go toward "health and trauma services for pediatric patients."
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Neither hospital responded to a request for comment for more information on how that funding might be used or about their relationships with HHS.
Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-signed-shutdown-bill-sends-4m-childrens-hospitals-under-federal-probe-transgender-care