New York Attorney General Letitia James, in coalition with 19 other state AGs, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging the deep cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services. The federal agency, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced on March 27th that a “dramatic restructuring” was underway meant to “streamline” operations and cut down ‘redundant units.” The plan calls for the elimination of 20,000 full-time positions, or 25% of the HHS’s total staff, as well as a reduction of the agency’s 28 divisions to 15.
“The terminations and reorganizations happened quickly, but the consequences are severe, complicated, drawn-out, and potentially irreversible,” James said in announcing the move. New York’s Health Department expects to go without $300 million in funding from HHS, which will severely damage its ability to confront looming threats like the measles and bird flu outbreaks. The state’s Office of Addiction Services and Supports will be cut by $40 million as well, at the same time as the state is set to approve three downstate casinos by the end of the year. Federal grants through HHS are also the lifeblood of nonprofits and community organizations providing all manner of care at the local level, from prostate cancer screenings to increasing access to healthy foods in low-income communities.
In announcing the federal lawsuit filed in Rhode Island, which asks the court to put a stop to the cuts announced by the Trump administration, New York’s AG stated that the Trump administration “is not streamlining the federal government; they are sabotaging it and all of us”. She added, “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.”
This is the second lawsuit brought by Letitia James in concert with other state-level officials against HHS cuts, having already filed a suit requesting a temporary injunction to stop the federal grants from being terminated. Federal Judge Mary McElroy had granted a 14-day stay blocking the cuts, stating in her decision that “likelihood of success on the merits is extremely strong.”
New York’s attorney general is also pursuing an inquiry into Trump and his inner circle for insider trading, after markets swung wildly last month in response to the president’s unpredictable policies on tariffs.
