WA co-leads lawsuit against DHHS, RFK Jr. to reverse cuts to public-health grants
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown announced on April 1 that the state is co-leading a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is also named as a defendant.
A two-dozen-state coalition is suing the federal health department for what it says has been a sudden and unlawful $11 billion cut in public health grants to the states.
The terminations have rapidly resulted in “chaos” for state health agencies that depend on such funds for infectious-disease management, strengthening emergency preparedness and substance-abuse and mental-health services, among others, according to a news release announcing the lawsuit.
“We can’t make America healthy by spreading preventable diseases,” Brown said in a statement. “Aside from the illegality of these actions, the administration is also choosing to neglect the biggest public health challenges, including substance abuse and mental health crises, facing our communities.”
This marks the latest in a series of legal challenges that Washington state has led or participated in against the federal government after President Donald Trump took office in January.
Washington could miss out on more than $159 million from HHS-imposed cancellations, according to the state Attorney General’s Office. If those federal dollars aren’t received, then crucial state public-health initiatives and programs may be disbanded or dissolved, the lawsuit says.
One example, according to the AG: The state’s Department of Health has nixed its Care-A-Van mobile health clinics that offer vaccinations and other health care to historically underserved communities.
Cuts also potentially jeopardize certain behavioral-health services, Brown contends. On top of that, they come at a time when threats such as bird flu and measles are ramping up.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island on April 1. State attorneys general are asking, in part, for a temporary restraining order to invalidate the mass grant terminations in their states, a move they say violates the Administrative Procedure Act.
Congress green-lit and appropriated increased and new funding for such grants in legislation related to COVID-19 as a way to back key public-health needs, a news release notes.
Many such grants come from Congress-created programs, but under Kennedy’s tenure, federal health agencies on March 24 “arbitrarily terminated these grants ‘for cause’ effective immediately.” The federal administration claims that the grants aren’t needed anymore.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago,” a department spokesperson told McClatchy via email. “HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again.”
But the suing states say that the mass cuts conflict with federal law, taking issue with the “for cause” argument and noting that none of the appropriated dollars are tied to the close of the pandemic.
“HHS’ position, up until a few days ago, was that the end of the pandemic did not affect the availability of these grant funds,” according to the Attorney General’s Office. “HHS has not pointed to any failure on the part of the states in complying with their agreements with HHS that would warrant the federal government’s unlawful terminations.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 10:39 AM.
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