AP reveals funded work isn’t being done at CDC because of job cuts

Persistence and deep sourcing helped medical writer Mike Stobbe turn a reporting thread from a colleague into an illuminating piece of accountability journalism. Stobbe showed how Trump administration staffing cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had created a remarkable contradiction: Congress continued to appropriate millions of dollars for public health programs that, on paper, remained alive while they had few or no employees left to do the work.

These “zombie programs,” as the Health and Science team dubbed them, deal with major issues including Alzheimer’s disease, smoking, epilepsy, sickle cell disease and rape prevention. Stobbe began reporting after Washington reporter Gary Fields passed along material that didn’t fit into a story Fields had done about DOGE budget cuts: Two CDC employees said Alzheimer’s prevention work had been abandoned after layoffs.

Stobbe spoke with a federal employees’ union, interviewed about a half-dozen CDC employees and obtained research compiled by current and former workers identifying dozens of affected programs. He broadened the reporting by contacting advocacy groups and congressional sources, transforming individual accounts of disruption into a documented pattern across the agency.

Stobbe stuck with the reporting for months while handling unending spot news. In July, he spotted a crucial exchange during incoming CDC Director Erica Schwartz’s confirmation hearing, when Sen. Tim Kaine pressed her about restoring a congressionally funded smoking program that was on Stobbe’s list of zombies. The story was published just after Schwartz took office, showing the scope of challenges confronting the new director.

Stobbe also worked with Health and Science video journalist Mary Conlon on an explainer video to discuss his findings for digital audiences.

Judges were impressed with Stobbe’s strong and dogged reporting, compelling audio and video presentation and delivery of a text story that turned what could have been a dry, “bowels-of-the-budget” tale into lively, conversational journalism.

For exceptional reporting and all-format storytelling developed over months from a tip, Mike Stobbe earns this week’s Best of AP AP — Second Winner.