Following the early termination of federal grants supporting immunization and mental health in Nevada, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) has sent a letter to federal officials demanding to know the rationale behind the cuts.

In the Thursday letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Cortez Masto wrote that the grant terminations could have a devastating effect on the state’s already-stressed mental health and immunization infrastructure. The Nevada Independent reported in March that the canceled grants caused nearly 50 people to lose their jobs and stemmed from a decision made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Cortez Masto requested Kennedy explain why the cuts were made, share any analyses done to determine the effect of the grant terminations and what the department planned to do to ensure that Nevada continues to receive necessary services.

“This abrupt decision to cut critical, already-allocated funding is alarming and poses a direct threat to the mental health and well-being of Nevadans,” Cortez Masto wrote.

The terminated grants in Nevada include community mental health block grants funded through the American Rescue Plan Act. These grants, which were set to expire in September, are specifically designed to provide mental health care to adults with serious mental illness and children with “severe emotional disturbances,” according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

State officials indicated the grant terminations stemmed from a directive from DOGE that informed the state the grants were “no longer necessary” because they were pandemic-era relief programs. Cortez Masto disagreed with the assertion, writing that the funding went “far beyond pandemic recovery” and that they helped boost Nevada’s community behavioral health workforce, support community-based initiatives and ensure continuity of care.

“This funding, approved by Congress, has been instrumental in strengthening Nevada’s mental health infrastructure across our urban cities, rural communities, and tribal lands,” she wrote.

Her words echo the sentiments of public health leaders in Nevada who have said the pandemic relief funds were vital in supporting the state’s public health infrastructure, which often lags near the bottom of nationwide rankings for mental health, vaccination rates and health care access. Nevada received $2.7 billion in flexible pandemic aid and allocated about $114 million for mental health programs.