Judge halts some ‘dramatic restructuring’ at HHS as legal challenges pile up

A lawsuit filed in April by a group of plaintiffs representing municipal governments and labor unions against Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over mass firings and cuts to funding has gained traction. On May 9, a federal judge overseeing the case issued a temporary restraining order against the agency, blocking part of its “dramatic restructuring” plan.

In halting further cuts and firings, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston stopped short of ordering the agency to rehire workers or change course. However, she placed a two-week injunction on further cuts, especially those that pertain to the lawsuit filed by unions within the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Geophysical Union, the American Public Health Association, the Center for Taxpayer Rights, the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, the Common Defense, Main Street Alliance, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Northeast Organic Farming Association, VoteVets, Western Watersheds Project, and the cities and counties of San Francisco, Santa Clara, Chicago, Baltimore, Harris County (Texas), and King County (Washington).

The coalition argued that the sudden cuts and changes are causing irreparable harm to coalition members' constituents, which will leave municipalities without funding for public health initiatives—funds that were already allocated and promised by Congress.

In her ruling, Illston stated that the plaintiffs “are likely to succeed on the merits of at least some of their claims,” agreeing with the suggestion that the restructuring may very well be unlawful and “step far outside the bounds of any authority that Congress vested” in HHS and the Office of Personnel Management. 

These agencies, in conjunction with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are responsible for the staffing cuts at the heart of the complaint.

"The president has the authority to seek changes to executive branch agencies, but he must do so in lawful ways and, in the case of large-scale reorganizations, with the cooperation of the legislative branch," Illston wrote. "Many presidents have sought this cooperation before; many iterations of Congress have provided it. Nothing prevents the President from requesting this cooperation—as he did in his prior term of office."

The plaintiffs argued that they’ve been forced to conduct their own layoffs and shut down programs due to a loss of funding and support from HHS, with programs such as Head Start preschool particularly suffering the effects.

The Trump administration immediately appealed Illston’s injunction, which will not go to a higher court but could be taken up by the Supreme Court.