20 state attorneys general sue Trump administration to restore health agencies
Source: NBC News
May 5, 2025, 12:30 PM EDT
Twenty state attorneys general sued the Trump administration on Monday over its mass firings and the dismantling of agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services. The lawsuit, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleges that the administration violated hundreds of laws and bypassed congressional authority by endeavoring to consolidate the number of HHS agencies from 28 to 15 and initiating layoffs of around 20,000 employees.
“This administration is not streamlining the federal government; they are sabotaging it,” James said in a statement. “When you fire the scientists who research infectious diseases, silence the doctors who care for pregnant people, 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.”
HHS announced the restructuring in late March as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s broader effort to reduce the size of the federal workforce. The cuts included 3,500 employees at the Food and Drug Administration, 2,400 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 1,200 employees at the National Institutes of Health. HHS said it would create a new agency, the Administration for a Healthy America, to absorb some responsibilities carried out by terminated agencies, such as programs focused on mental, environmental or worker health.
But the lawsuit claims the recent cuts will have “severe, complicated, drawn-out, and potentially irreversible” consequences. The attorneys general said in a press release that the restructuring has rendered HHS unable to carry out many of its vital functions by gutting mental health and substance use services, crippling the nation’s HIV/AIDS response and reducing support for low-income families and people with disabilities.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/20-state-attorneys-general-sue-trump-admin-restore-health-agencies-rcna204824
Link to PRESS RELEASE - Attorney General James Sues to Block Trump Administration’s Dangerous Dismantling of Health and Human Services Department
Blue Sky -
I'm suing the Trump administration over its unconstitutional dismantling of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
— New York Attorney General Letitia James (@newyorkstateag.bsky.social) 2025-05-05T17:11:13.848Z
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Firing scientists, silencing doctors, and shuttering programs that help firefighters breathe and children thrive don't make America healthy.
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It puts lives at risk.
@newyorkstateag.bsky.social
I'm suing the Trump administration over its unconstitutional dismantling of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Firing scientists, silencing doctors, and shuttering programs that help firefighters breathe and children thrive don't make America healthy.
It puts lives at risk.
May 5, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Link to tweet
@NewYorkStateAG
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I'm suing the Trump administration over its unconstitutional and dangerous dismantling of @HHSGov.
Firing scientists, silencing doctors, and shuttering programs that help firefighters breathe and children thrive don't make America healthy.
It puts lives at risk.
1:09 PM · May 5, 2025
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