More Than Two Dozen States Sue Trump Admin Over Termination Of $11 Billion In Health Funds

A coalition of 26 states and the District of Columbia has filed a sweeping lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., challenging the abrupt termination of $11 billion in public health funding that states say is critical to protecting residents and maintaining essential health services.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, the suit accuses HHS of unlawfully canceling grants and cooperative agreements that were appropriated during the COVID-19 pandemic but were designed to support long-term public health infrastructure, mental health services, and emergency preparedness.

The lawsuit, led by Colorado, Rhode Island, California, and other Democratic-led states, seeks immediate injunctive relief to stop the Biden administration from enforcing the funding cuts, which took effect March 24 without prior notice.

The complaint argues that HHS violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by terminating the grants “for cause” — a designation typically reserved for grantee misconduct or noncompliance — when no such violations were alleged.

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