States’ challenge against HHS staffing cuts, restructuring moves forward
A federal judge has rejected an attempt by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a coalition of states, challenging staffing cuts and restructuring at the agency that plaintiffs allege has left it “unable to perform statutory functions.”
The lawsuit was announced in May 2025, with 19 states and Washington D.C. challenging the ongoing changes at the time, largely brought about by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has since shut down.
DOGE was responsible for firing tens of thousands of federal workers, many of whom have since been rehired.
In their lawsuit, the mostly Democratic-aligned governments argued that the cuts were excessive and violated the U.S. Constitution, as HHS was no longer able to perform the tasks it was delegated by Congress. In this case, that meant providing data and resources necessary for local health departments to perform public service initiatives.
At the time, grants for Head Start preschool and programs that fund vaccine drives were among the long list of things HHS paused or cut.
State officials argued in their complaint that this money was allocated by Congress, and neither Musk nor HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has any right to cut any funding or grants guaranteed by legislative law.
Testing labs effectively shut down
Central to the complaint was the closure and defunding of public labs, which the states said made it impossible for them to perform the necessary testing to monitor contagious diseases in their communities.
State health departments were sometimes able to find alternatives, but it came at an increased cost they hadn’t budgeted for, as labs associated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—which operates under the banner of HHS—typically handle testing for regional governments.
The plaintiffs—New York, Washington, Rhode Island, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin and Washington D.C.—were initially seeking an injunction requiring HHS to rehire staff and fulfill a list of duties outlined in the lawsuit.
It’s unclear now what power a court has to order HHS to revert back to its old habits.
It's also hard to follow what aspects of the lawsuit have already been resolved, as there has been a revolving door for staff at most federal healthcare agencies since DOGE firings began in February 2025. Further, there have been numerous lawsuits challenging firings, grant cuts and more that have had mixed results in court.
With the motion to dismiss rejected, the civil complaint against HHS can now move forward through the federal court system.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.