A coalition of Democratic attorneys general in 19 states and Washington, D.C., is suing the Trump administration after the Department of Health and Human Services underwent a major restructuring in late March.
The federal lawsuit, filed Monday in Rhode Island, argues that the mass termination of staff and grants amounts to the “unconstitutional and illegal dismantling” of federal health agencies by circumventing Congress, which appropriates funds to the department annually.
“This administration is not streamlining the federal government; they are sabotaging it and all of us,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the plaintiffs.
“When you fire the scientists who research infectious diseases, silence the doctors who care for pregnant patients, and shut down the programs that help firefighters and miners breathe or children thrive, you are not making America healthy – you are putting countless lives at risk.”
On March 27, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. implemented a plan to start restructuring the department through mass layoffs and agency closures. The department’s workforce was slashed from 85,000 to 65,000, and the department’s 28 divisions were collapsed into 15 as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s cost-cutting efforts.
The lawsuit further argues that Kennedy’s directive violates the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine and its appropriations clause, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act.
HHS did not respond to National Review’s request for comment about the litigation.
The attorneys general are seeking a preliminary injunction to immediately block the Trump administration’s HHS cuts and to restore the critical health programs that were eliminated, including those that support people with disabilities and low-income households.
Speaking with 60 Minutes last week, former National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins said the Trump administration’s HHS cuts could threaten medical research on illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease or cancer. He resigned from his position in December 2021 but stayed at NIH to continue his genome research.
Collins retired in March after the Trump administration took over, claiming his position became “untenable” as he and other scientists were “not allowed to speak.”
James is joined by the attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C.
The defendants are listed as Kennedy, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Martin Makary, and various other leaders of the federal health agencies under the department.
Monday’s lawsuit follows a similar one filed by 23 attorneys general last month over HHS’s termination of roughly $11 billion in public health grants. The cuts were temporarily halted by a federal judge, who still needs to issue a final ruling.
On Friday, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget released its 2026 budget proposal seeking a 26 percent cut in HHS’s discretionary spending. The proposal, referred to as a “skinny budget” request, asks for $93.8 billion for HHS, or $33 billion less than the fiscal year 2025 enacted spending level.
The HHS budget proposes reducing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s funding by $3.6 billion and NIH’s funding by $18 billion, while a proposed $674 million would be cut from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Kennedy is set to appear for a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on May 14 to discuss the proposed budget and HHS’s restructuring in recent months.