The lawsuit, led by New York, argues that the slashing of grants and staff at the Department of Health and Human Services amounts to the “illegal dismantling” of the agency.
A coalition of 19 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Monday in an effort to block its slashing of the Department of Health and Human Services, arguing that the significant staff reductions and cuts to public health grants amounted to an “unconstitutional and illegal dismantling” of the agency.
The suit comes on the heels of several similar cases seeking to block the termination of billions of dollars in grants awarded by federal health agencies in support of public health research and state health programs.
But the lawsuit’s scope is broad, taking aim at the larger public health agenda laid out by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary. His priorities include reorienting the department around his “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, conducting sweeping layoffs and changing vaccine-approval practices, a move that has alarmed and baffled many health experts.
The suit argues the cutbacks already enacted have jeopardized a range of congressionally mandated programs, including mental health and addiction services, Head Start — the federal program that funds early childhood education for poor students — Medicaid and assistance for low-income households in paying heating and cooling bills, according to a draft of the suit reviewed by The New York Times.
The lawsuit follows the release of President Trump’s budget outline last week, in which he sought to enlist Congress in his effort to reduce the department’s overall footprint and scope by slashing billions from its budget.
“This administration is not streamlining the federal government; they are sabotaging it and all of us,” said Attorney General Letitia James of New York, who is leading the challenge filed on Monday. “When you fire the scientists who research infectious diseases, silence the doctors who care for pregnant people, and shut down the programs that help firefighters and miners breathe or children thrive, you are not making America healthy — you are putting countless lives at risk.”