California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with a coalition of 20 attorneys general, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration. The legal action challenges the recent mass firing of approximately 10,000 full-time employees from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as well as the consolidation of 28 HHS divisions into 15 and the closure of five out of ten regional offices, including one in San Francisco. These measures were part of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" Directive announced on March 27.
The attorneys general argue that the directive is arbitrary and capricious, violates the Administrative Procedure Act, exceeds presidential authority, and breaches both the Appropriations Clause and Separation of Powers doctrine in the U.S. Constitution. They have petitioned the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island to declare this directive unconstitutional and illegal, seeking to halt its implementation to reverse the firings and reorganization.
Attorney General Bonta stated: “The Trump Administration does not have the power to incapacitate a department that Congress created, nor can it decline to spend funds that were appropriated by Congress for that department. That’s why my fellow attorneys general and I are taking the Trump Administration to court — HHS is under attack, and we won’t stand for it.”
The directive's impact has been significant on HHS's mission to safeguard public health. Work across various agencies within HHS ceased abruptly following its implementation. Additionally, layoffs were exacerbated by buy-out offers leading to a total reduction of roughly 20,000 employees from an original workforce of 82,000 as of January 2025. Critical services have been affected; for instance, access to N95 masks is no longer reliable due to closing the only federal mask approval laboratory.
In their lawsuit, they highlight Secretary Kennedy's prior advocacy against HHS's mandated work promoting public health before his nomination by President Trump. The suit also points out potential harm caused by these actions to states' early childhood programs like Head Start if operations are disrupted.
Furthermore, enforcement functions within HHS have been compromised; specifically mentioning how tobacco regulation enforcement was impacted due to staff reductions in key offices.
Attorney General Bonta is joined in this lawsuit by his counterparts from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island Vermont Washington Wisconsin and Washington D.C.