Illinois, other states sue HHS, RFK Jr. over public grant cuts

CHICAGO — Illinois and a coalition of other states have sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over terminating public health grants.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul argues that the recent grant terminations, totaling nearly $12 billion for states, have caused chaos for state health agencies.

“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,” Raoul said. “The abrupt termination of this funding that impacts millions of American lives is both callous and unlawful. I am absolutely committed to standing with other state attorneys general to fight the Trump administration’s ludicrous and unlawful actions that threaten the health and safety of Illinois residents.”

Raoul went on to say that Illinois stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars due to the recent grant cuts. He said programs funded by the grants include services for providing vaccines to children, supporting public schools’ ability to share information about communicable diseases, administering tests for diseases like Ebola, constructing lab facilities for disease monitoring and addressing public health situations.

In a federal lawsuit filed in Rhode Island, the coalition asserts that the grant cuts violate the law because using the end of the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason is not a “for cause” basis.

Raoul claims that none of the appropriated funds are tied to the end of the pandemic.

The coalition is seeking a temporary restraining order.

Other states involved are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Washington. The District of Columbia is also involved.

The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that employees across HHS began receiving notices of dismissal in an overhaul ultimately expected to lay off up to 10,000 people.