A coalition of state attorneys general sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its decision toΒ cut $11 billion in federal funds that go toward COVID-19Β initiatives andΒ various public health projectsΒ across the country.
Attorneys general from 23 states filed the suit in federal court in Rhode Island. They include North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as well as attorneys general in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia.
The lawsuit argues the cuts are illegal, and that the federal government did not provide βrational basisβ or facts to support the cuts. The attorneys general say it will result in βserious harm to public healthβ and put states βat greater risk for future pandemics and the spread of otherwise preventable disease and cutting off vital public health services.β
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 toΒ addiction and mental health programs.
βSlashing 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,β James said Tuesday in a news release.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department, which began serving employeesΒ dismissal noticesΒ on Tuesday in whatβs 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 βwill no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.β
Local and state public health departments are still assessing the impact of the loss of funds, though the lawsuit points to the claw back putting hundreds of jobs at risk and weakening efforts to stem infectious diseases like flu andΒ measles.
Health officials in North Carolina, which joined the lawsuit, estimate the state could lose $230 million, harming dozens of local health departments, hospital systems and universities, and rural health centers. At least 80 government jobs and dozens of contractors would be affected, according to state health officials.
βThere are legal ways to improve how tax dollars are used, but this wasnβt one of them,β North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said. βImmediately halting critical health care programs across the state without legal authority isnβt just wrong β it puts lives at risk.β
Already,Β more than two dozen COVID-related research grantsΒ funded by the National Institutes of Health have been cancelled.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionΒ data from MarchΒ shows that COVID-19 killed 411 people each week on average, even though the federal public health emergency has ended.
