Twenty States Sue HHS Over Downsizing, Layoffs
In response to the White House downsizing the federal government, the Department of Health and Homeland Security (HHS) is being sued by 20 Attorney Generals for the alleged negative effects this effort has produced in US health.
Leading the lawsuit is New York Attorney General Letitia James. The plaintiff states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. The District of Columbia is also involved in the suit as a plaintiff.
The plaintiffs find the shrinking of 13 HHS agencies from 28 to 15 and the laying off of nearly 20,000 employees detrimental to domestic health. They claim that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is preventing the department from operating on a basic level in order to achieve “Make America Healthy Again” goals:
“In its first three months, Secretary Kennedy and this administration deprived HHS of the resources necessary to do its job. Their plan escalated significantly on March 27, 2025, when HHS announced it would send termination notices to 10,000 HHS employees and shutter dozens of agencies…” the plaintiffs claimed in the introduction of the lawsuit.
Further in the introduction, the plaintiffs addressed the alleged consequences of the HHS’s current departmental agenda:
“The terminations and reorganizations happened quickly, but the consequences are severe, complicated, and potentially irreversible. Plaintiff States are already suffering consequences of these terminations and reorganizations.”
NY Attorney General Letitia James made a statement Monday regarding the lawsuit, claiming Secretary Kennedy’s aim of “making America healthy” is not being achieved through shrinking the HHS:
“This administration is not streamlining the federal government; they are sabotaging it,” James stated. “When you fire the scientists who research infectious diseases, silence the doctors who care for pregnant people, 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.”
In response to the suit’s claims, an HHS spokesperson told CBS News that the department “remains confident that the process will withstand legal scrutiny. We are following the law, period. Every step taken has been deliberate, collaborative, and consistent with federal personnel policy and civil service protections.”
