19 States Sue Health Department Over Restructuring and Terminations

Attorneys general say the cuts violate federal law.

New York Attorney General Letitia James in New York City on Nov. 8, 2023. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

New York and 18 other states sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on May 5, alleging that the department’s major overhaul violates federal law and the U.S. Constitution.

“[The cuts] defy Congress’s authority, and they violate federal law,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said during a virtual news conference.

“We are asking the court to halt the unlawful dismantling of HHS, to stop the mass firings, and to restore the life-saving programs that millions of Americans depend on.”

The states filed the lawsuit in federal court in New York state.

An HHS spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email that the department is following the law.

“Nothing has been rushed and multiple rounds of discussions between divisions and HHS occurred before the announcement,” the spokesperson said. “Every step taken has been deliberate, collaborative, and consistent with federal personnel policy and civil service protections. To suggest otherwise is inaccurate and misrepresents the integrity and facts of the process.”

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in March announced that HHS was going to fire 10,000 workers, on top of 10,000 who had already exited the agency. He also said HHS would be reorganized in a bid to make it more efficient and effective.

Federal health agencies in early April sent termination notices to the workers and have eliminated or reduced a number of programs and offices. That has left them unable to perform statutorily required actions, according to the suit.

The law, for instance, requires the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to certify respiratory equipment, but the institute’s website says that because of the mass terminations, “no new respirator approval applications can be accepted.”

The lawsuit states, “Plaintiff States—as employers and operators of health care facilities and other settings where respiratory equipment is necessary—are harmed by the sudden cessation of certification of respiratory equipment, which will make it more difficult to source and purchase necessary respiratory equipment for State workers and State facilities.”

The Food and Drug Administration is also not meeting federal requirements, the states alleged, noting that the regulator did not decide on Novavax’s application for a license for its COVID-19 vaccine before a deadline. Authorities have since said that Novavax must carry out a clinical trial to receive a license.

California, Maryland, Connecticut, and Delaware are among the other plaintiff states. The 19 states were joined by the District of Columbia.

The attorneys general said that the cuts also left the World Trade Center Health Program without doctors to certify illnesses, which is required for coverage.

“We have found that new people coming into the program with cancer have not been able to be certified for their cancer,” Gary Smiley, a former paramedic who was a first responder to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said at the briefing held by James.

“They say that new certifications are restarting again, but we don’t know,” he noted later.

The suit comes after the unveiling of President Donald Trump’s proposed budget. The proposal floats investing $500 million for Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again agenda and reducing funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies, with $32 million in cuts that would eliminate more than a dozen programs.

Congress still has to approve the budget and could amend some portions. Republicans hold slim majorities in both legislative chambers.