Washington sues over cuts to Health and Human Services

A coalition of 19 states, including Washington, has challenged reductions in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In April, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to slash the agency’s staff by 25%, or 20,000 jobs – one he said could save $1.8 billion a year. The pitch included closing half of the agency’s regional offices, consolidating 28 divisions into 15 and moving essential functions to other agencies.

According to Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown, the cuts have included closing the country’s only federal mask approval laboratory to ensure efficacy of facial coverings, shuttering congressionally mandated surveillance programs for black lung disease and firing hundreds of employees who worked on mental health and addiction treatment, including half of the workforce at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, among others.

“These actions are both plainly illegal and a moral failing. More Americans will suffer from illness, injury, and death without these commonsense programs,” Brown said in a statement. “A robust public health system that serves communities with the most barriers to appropriate medical care is vital.”

The lawsuit alleges the actions violate “hundreds” of federal regulations and laws.

Brown also sued Kennedy in April after hundreds of grants issued by the National Institutes of Health were canceled. According to Brown, the University of Washington received 1,220 NIH grants, totaling over $648 million, in fiscal year 2024, the most in the nation.

Following the lawsuit, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, restoring the funding.