State Attorney General Letitia James continued the march of state-led legal challenges to Trump administration cuts with a new lawsuit to block its efforts to restructure the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
James and attorneys general from 19 other states filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island seeking an immediate halt on a move to fold 28 public health agencies into 15 and reduce the department’s headcount by 20,000 federal employees. The move, directed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on March 27, has put a myriad of public health functions, including programs for people in poverty, children with disabilities, suicide prevention, HIV and the World Trade Center Health Program at risk, the states argue.
The lawsuit is the latest James and the coalition of states have filed against the administration in President Donald Trump’s first months in office. The moves seek to hold the rapid clip of unprecedented reductions being made to federal spending and workforce at bay. Shortly before the HHS lawsuit was announced, the attorney general’s office filed another lawsuit challenging the administration’s halt on new wind energy projects.
The new complaint seeks to stop the restructuring of HHS and restore impacted health programs. The states argue the directives by Kennedy and department leaders, which have already resulted in the termination of 10,000 employees and the disruption of several disease and safety-related research, surveillance, prevention and treatment, amount to the “illegal dismantling” of core HHS functions in violation of the Constitution and federal law.
The cuts have had far-reaching effects on a large swath of the federal government’s work to promote health in America. They have led to the closure of five out of ten regional offices and temporary freezing of grants for the early education program Head Start, which is used by hundreds of thousands of children and families, the suit states.
Because staff responsible for overseeing federal poverty guidelines were laid off, states may be unable to determine eligibility for programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the states say.
The administration has laid off half the employees at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, cutting the 988 suicide hotline and national surveys on drug use. The tobacco prevention agency was also folded.
The coalition plans to file a motion for a preliminary injunction later this week, James said on Monday.
