Attorney General Kwame Raoul, representing a coalition of 24 attorneys general and governors, has initiated legal action against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The lawsuit challenges the abrupt cessation of nearly $12 billion in essential public health grants.
The terminated grants, which lacked prior notification or valid legal justification, have disrupted state health agencies. These funds were crucial for numerous public health areas, including infectious disease control, emergency readiness, mental health services, and infrastructure updates.
Kwame Raoul expressed concern, stating, "Illinois and states across the nation rely on federal grants to provide state public health services that protect our children and residents from serious diseases or health crises." He criticized the termination as "callous and unlawful" and vowed support for fellow attorneys general in opposing the Trump administration's actions.
The state of Illinois risks losing hundreds of millions in funding, impacting vital health services such as children's immunizations, school health communications, serious disease testing, laboratory facility construction, and crisis management for outbreaks like measles and influenza.
The coalition warns of increased threats from diseases such as measles and bird flu. They argue that the grant terminations breach federal law, as the grants were authorized by Congress for COVID-19-related needs, independent of the pandemic's official end over a year ago. Some of these terminations, deemed "for cause," were executed without legal authority.
Filing the lawsuit in Rhode Island's U.S. District Court, Raoul and allies seek a temporary restraining order, asserting that HHS's actions contravene the Administrative Procedure Act. They ask the court to prevent further implementation of the terminations.
Joining Raoul are attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Washington, along with the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.