US democratic attorneys general in 23 states and Washington, DC, filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the District Court of Rhode Island on Tuesday. They alleged in the lawsuit that the department’s sudden rollback of $12 billion in public health funding was unlawful and harmful.
The lawsuit takes issue with HHS’s “abruptly and arbitrarily” terminating $11 billion of “critical public health funding.” According to the lawsuit:
Beginning on March 24, 2025, HHS abruptly, with no advance notice or warning, changed its position and terminated $11 billion in critical public health funds. The notices of termination arrived in grant portals and e-mail inboxes, often late at night. Some staff of Plaintiff States’ health agencies did not receive these notices until they came to work on March 25.
The termination notices explained that the end of the pandemic provided cause to terminate COVID-related grants. Plaintiffs argue that while the funds were allocated during COVID-19, none of the funds were scheduled to terminate at the end of the pandemic. The plaintiffs are seeking relief in the form of a temporary restraining order.
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha, who co-led the lawsuit, issued the following statement following its filing:
First and foremost, Americans expect their government to protect them from harm. By eliminating billions in critical funding for essential public health initiatives, the Administration is effectively telling the American people to fend for themselves. Here in Rhode Island, these cuts will defund programs which ensure our children are properly vaccinated and immunized from preventable disease, and which address health disparities in low-income communities, among others.
The press release further notes that without this funding, the state will have to be dissolved or disbanded, including those that focus on childhood vaccination and immunization, health disparities among high-risk and underserved populations, and laboratory testing capacity. A warning that is echoed by the California Department of Justice.