States, including California, file lawsuits to impede Trump administration's planned reductions in the health department's funding.

States, including California, file lawsuits to impede Trump administration's planned reductions in the health department's funding.

A Legal Battle Over Health Funding

California, alongside 18 other states and D.C., took legal action against the Trump administration on May 3rd, 2025, to halt deep cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The coalition alleges the cuts are unconstitutional, arbitrary, and detrimental to American health services [1][2].

This lawsuit opposes HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s March 27 directive, which resulted in the termination of 10,000 full-time employees, consolidating 28 divisions into 15, and closing five regional offices, including one in San Francisco [2]. These changes have caused numerous service disruptions, such as the closure of laboratories monitoring the nation's measles outbreak [2].

California's Attorney General, Rob Bonta, asserts that the cuts violate the Administrative Procedure Act and exceed the president's authority by infringing on Congress's power to appropriate funds for specific government services [1].

The lawsuit demands that the courts declare these cuts unlawful, bar their implementation, and reverse the related terminations [1]. This lawsuit is one of two filed by Bonta's office against the Trump administration on the same day, the second challenging new federal wind energy restrictions [1].

Politics and the Trump Administration

In its first 100 days, California has initiated multiple legal challenges against the Trump administration while supporting other litigants in additional cases [1]. A Health and Human Services spokesperson has defended the agency's actions, stating they comply with the law and federal employee protections [1].

In February 2025, President Trump issued an executive order, delegating advisor Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency with the task of eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity in the federal workforce, including through mass firings [1]. HHS justified the restructuring as a means to focus on Kennedy's goals of tackling chronic illness by emphasizing safe food, clean water, and minimizing environmental toxins [1].

Kennedy contends that bureaucracies become wasteful over time but insists that the overhaul would be beneficial for both taxpayers and the public [1]. Public health experts have raised concerns about Kennedy's leadership, given his past espousal of antivaccine conspiracy theories and controversial stances on several health issues [1].

California's High-Speed Rail Concerns

With the high-speed rail project awaiting a Trump administration compliance review, concerns persist regarding its financial future [1]. Separately, California is embroiled in legal disputes with the Trump administration over plans to slash federal public health grants and close the Health and Human Services office in San Francisco [1].

In a remarkable turn of events, the Trump administration has reportedly eliminated more than a dozen health-tracking programs that gather data on deaths, diseases, and other health indicators across the nation [1]. California leaders have expressed concern about these cuts, emphasizing their potential negative impact on health responses and public health efforts [1].

Sources:[1] - Associated Press (2025)[2] - Bonta, R. (2025) [Press Release]

1. The legal battle over health funding involving California and the Trump administration centers around the alleged unconstitutional cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which, according to the coalition, could harm American health services.
2. California's Attorney General, Rob Bonta, has asserted that the HHS cuts violate the Administrative Procedure Act and exceed the President's authority, encroaching on Congress's power to appropriate funds for specific government services.
3. The lawsuit filed by Bonta's office seeks to declare the cuts unlawful, prevent their implementation, and reverse related terminations, including the closure of laboratories monitoring the nation's measles outbreak.
4. In a response, a Health and Human Services spokesperson has defended the agency's actions, asserting that they comply with the law and federal employee protections.
5. The Trump administration's first 100 days saw multiple legal challenges from California, including ones against the federal government's wind energy restrictions and the restructuring of the HHS, which led to the termination of 10,000 full-time employees and the closing of five regional offices.
6. President Trump's executive order in February 2025 delegated the task of eliminating waste in the federal workforce to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, which includes the HHS overhaul aimed at focusing on secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s goals of addressing chronic illness by emphasizing safe food, clean water, and reducing environmental toxins.
7. Public health experts have raised concerns about Kennedy's leadership due to his past espousal of antivaccine conspiracy theories and controversial stances on several health issues, as well as the potential negative impact on health responses and public health efforts from the cuts to health-tracking programs, such as those that gather data on deaths, diseases, and other health indicators across the nation.

Read also: