Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, along with 18 other attorneys general, has filed a lawsuit against Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and other officials from the Trump administration. The legal action aims to halt the dismantling of HHS under Secretary Kennedy's leadership, which has resulted in the termination of thousands of federal health workers and the closure of key programs.
Attorney General Nessel expressed concerns about public health impacts: “Public health and infectious diseases know no borders,” she stated. She criticized the administration's decision to close regional public health programs and CDC laboratories, arguing that these actions endanger public health and violate constitutional principles.
The restructuring initiative, part of President Trump's "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) plan, was announced by Secretary Kennedy on March 27. It involves reducing HHS agencies from 28 to 15 and laying off approximately 20,000 employees, significantly impacting regional offices across major cities like Boston, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle.
The lawsuit highlights potential risks posed by these changes. Programs for miners with black lung disease have been disrupted; layoffs at an N95 mask approval laboratory threaten respirator supplies; CDC labs essential for tracking infectious diseases like measles face operational challenges due to staff cuts.
Additionally, mental health services are affected as hundreds working on addiction treatment have been fired. The World Trade Center Health Program could lose critical personnel needed for cancer diagnosis certifications. Pregnant women and newborns are also at risk following the dismissal of the CDC maternal health team.
Nessel and her colleagues argue that these sweeping changes violate federal statutes since they were made without congressional approval. They claim this undermines laws designed to protect public health and compromises HHS's mission.
The coalition seeks a court order to stop further terminations and restore essential health services relied upon by millions. Previously, on April 1, Nessel joined another lawsuit against similar funding cuts by the administration. A temporary restraining order was issued on April 4 reinstating those funds temporarily.
Joining Nessel in this legal challenge are attorneys general from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.