A coalition of state attorneys general sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its decision to cut $12 billion in federal funds that go toward COVID-19 initiatives and various public health projects across the country.
Attorneys general from 23 states filed the suit in federal court in Rhode Island. They include New York Attorney General Letitia James, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as well as attorneys general in California, Colorado, Minnesota, North Carolina, Wisconsin and New York, as well as the District of Columbia.
According to New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office, Maine is one of the states that has joined the lawsuit. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey had not released any communications about the lawsuit as of mid-morning Tuesday.
The lawsuit argues the cuts are illegal and puts public health across the country at risk. 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.
Earlier Tuesday, employees across the U.S. Health and Human Services Department started getting dismissal notices in what’s expected to total 10,000 layoffs.
Federal health officials announced the decision to claw back the money a week ago. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokespeople said that the agency “will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.”
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 the virus killed 411 people each week on average, even though the federal public health emergency has ended.
Local and state public health departments are still assessing the impact of the loss of funds.
Story by Devna Bose and Lindsey Whitehurst, Associated Press. BDN reporter Leela Stockley contributed to this report.
