States sue Trump administration for rescinding billions in health
funding
[April 02, 2025]
By DEVNA BOSE and LINDSEY WHITEHURST
A coalition of states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its
decision to cut $11 billion in federal funds that go toward COVID-19
initiatives and various public health projects across the country.
Attorneys general and other officials from 23 states sued in federal
court in Rhode Island. They include New York Attorney General Letitia
James and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, as well as Kentucky
Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the District of
Columbia.
The lawsuit argues the cuts are illegal, and that the federal government
did not provide “rational basis” or facts to support the cuts. The
attorneys general say it will result in “serious harm to public health”
and put states “at greater risk for future pandemics and the spread of
otherwise preventable disease and cutting off vital public health
services.”
The lawsuit asks the court to immediately stop the Trump administration
from rescinding the money, which was allocated by Congress during the
pandemic and mostly used for COVID-related efforts such as testing and
vaccination. The money also went to addiction and mental health
programs.
“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 Tuesday in a news release.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department, which began serving
employees dismissal notices on Tuesday in what’s expected to total
10,000 layoffs, said it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon pointed to the agency's statement from last
week, when the decision to claw back the money was announced. The HHS
said then that it “will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars
responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years
ago.”
Local and state public health departments are still assessing the impact
of the loss of funds, though the lawsuit points to the clawback putting
hundreds of jobs at risk and weakening efforts to stem infectious
diseases like flu and measles.
The Minnesota Department of Health said it sent layoff and separation
notices Tuesday to 170 employees whose positions were funded by recently
terminated federal grants. The state agency also said about 300 more
workers were at risk of having their positions eliminated, and that it
had rescinded job offers to nearly 20 people.
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People gather for a candlelight vigil in support of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention in front of its headquarters in
Atlanta, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
 The agency said the layoffs and
separations are a direct consequence of the federal government's
cutting more than $220 million in previously approved funding.
“We are working now to figure out how much of this critical public
health work we can save and continue,” Minnesota Health Commissioner
Brooke Cunningham said in a statement. “The sudden and unexpected
action from the federal government left us with no choice but to
proceed with layoffs immediately.”
California could lose almost $1 billion, according to a statement
from state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office. That money supports
a number of public health initiatives, including substance use
disorder prevention programs, vaccination efforts and bird flu
prevention.
Health officials in North Carolina, which joined the lawsuit,
estimate the state could lose $230 million, harming dozens of local
health departments, hospital systems, universities and rural health
centers. At least 80 government jobs and dozens of contractors would
be affected, according to state health officials.
“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.”
Already, more than two dozen COVID-related research grants funded by
the National Institutes of Health have been cancelled.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from March
shows that COVID-19 killed 411 people each week on average, even
though the federal public health emergency has ended.
___
Associated Press reporter Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed
to this report.
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