Attorney General Kris Mayes of Arizona has joined forces with a coalition of 23 attorneys general to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., over the termination of nearly $12 billion in public health grants. These sudden cuts have left state health agencies scrambling and could potentially dismantle essential health services across the states. According to a press release from the Arizona Attorney General's office, no warning or legal justification was provided for this decision which has been particularly detrimental to rural communities dependent on these funds.
"I cannot overstate how reckless and illegal these cuts are," Attorney General Mayes said in the statement. "By slashing these grants, the Trump administration has launched an all-out attack on Arizona's public health system—harming the entire state, but hitting rural communities the hardest." Arizona stands to lose over $239 million, affecting jobs across a wide spectrum, including county public health offices, tribal health workers, and university employees. The grants in question support a variety of services, from emergency preparedness and infectious disease management to mental health services and infrastructure upgrades.
The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, argues that HHS's action violates the Administrative Procedure Act. The attorneys general assert that, as the termination reason given by HHS is not a legally permissible basis for ending the grants, particularly since the end of the pandemic is cited, and no funds are specifically tied to the pandemic’s conclusion. Before the terminations, HHS had maintained that the end of the pandemic did not affect the availability of the grant funds.
In demanding a temporary restraining order to invalidate the grant terminations, the coalition is pushing back against what they see as an unlawful overreach by Secretary Kennedy and HHS. The grants slated for termination include critical efforts to combat infectious diseases, which is increasingly important as emerging threats, such as measles and bird flu, are on the rise. "With this single threat, Secretary Kennedy has all but ensured that more Arizonans will get sick and die the next time we suffer an infectious disease outbreak, or god forbid, another pandemic," Attorney General Mayes warned in the press release.
Leading the litigation alongside Attorney General Mayes are Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, California's Attorney General Rob Bonta, Minnesota's Attorney General Keith Ellison, Rhode Island's Attorney General Peter Neronha, and Washington's Attorney General Nick Brown. They are supported by the attorneys general from various states, including Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Oregon.
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