A coalition of state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday, challenging its decision to slash $11 billion in federal funding for COVID-19 initiatives and other public health programs across the country.
The lawsuit, filed by attorneys general from 23 states in Rhode Island federal court, includes New York Attorney General Letitia James and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. Also joining the legal action are Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and officials from the District of Columbia.
According to the suit, the funding cuts are unlawful and lack a “rational basis,” with attorneys general warning that they will cause “serious harm to public health” by increasing states’ vulnerability to future pandemics, spreading preventable diseases, and dismantling vital health services.
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The lawsuit seeks an immediate court order to prevent the Trump administration from withdrawing the funds, which Congress allocated during the pandemic. These funds have been primarily used for COVID-19 testing, vaccination programs, and mental health and addiction treatment efforts.
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“Slashing this funding now will reverse our progress on the opioid crisis, throw our mental health systems into chaos, and leave hospitals struggling to care for patients,” James said in a statement Tuesday.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS), which began issuing dismissal notices on Tuesday as part of a wave of expected layoffs affecting 10,000 employees, declined to comment on the lawsuit, according to AP.
However, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon referred to the department’s prior statement, in which it defended the cuts by claiming, “We will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.”
State and local public health officials are still evaluating the full impact of the funding loss, but the lawsuit warns that the rollback threatens hundreds of jobs and could weaken efforts to combat infectious diseases such as flu and measles.
California stands to lose nearly $1 billion, according to Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, jeopardizing funding for substance use prevention, vaccination efforts, and bird flu mitigation. In North Carolina, which has joined the suit, officials estimate a $230 million shortfall that would disrupt health services at local departments, hospitals, universities, and rural clinics. State health officials say at least 80 government jobs and numerous contractor positions are at stake.
“There are legal ways to improve how tax dollars are used, but this wasn’t one of them,” North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said. “Immediately halting critical health care programs across the state without legal authority isn’t just wrong—it puts lives at risk.”
The financial cuts have already had an impact, with more than two dozen COVID-related research grants funded by the National Institutes of Health being canceled.
Despite the official end of the federal public health emergency, COVID-19 continues to pose a threat. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates the virus was still responsible for an average of 411 deaths per week as of March.
