• Investing
  • Stock
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Portfolio Performance Today
Economy

Trump foe Letitia James leading charge on new multistate lawsuit over HHS cuts

by May 6, 2025
by May 6, 2025

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday said she is leading a coalition of 20 states in suing the Trump administration over its cuts to public health funding and the Department of Health and Human Services, describing the efforts in a press conference as the most ‘sweeping and unlawful assault on public health’ in U.S. history.

The lawsuit, filed by James and other state attorneys general, accuses the Trump administration of violating ‘hundreds’ of laws and regulations in attempting to dismantle the Department of Health and Human Services, both by firing thousands of HHS employees in an effort to slash its overall workforce by 20,000 people and shuttering crucial health programs across the U.S.

‘This administration is not streamlining the federal government; they are sabotaging it,’ James said Monday. 

She used a press conference to highlight the risks these cuts pose for Americans in New York and across the country.

‘When you fire the scientists who research infectious diseases, silence the doctors who care for pregnant people and shut down the programs that help firefighters and miners breathe or children thrive, you are not making America healthy; you are putting countless lives at risk,’ James said. 

‘This is not how government is supposed to work. These actions are dangerous, cruel and illegal. They defy Congress’s authority and they violate federal law. And that is why today I am leading a lawsuit joined by Democratic attorneys general across the country to stop this administration from tearing down our public health infrastructure.’

The plaintiffs, who filed the lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, are asking the court ‘to halt the unlawful dismantling of HHS, to stop the mass firings, and to restore the life-saving programs that millions of Americans depend on,’ James said.

New York is joined in the lawsuit by the attorneys generals of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

Their lawsuit accuses the Trump administration in the lawsuit of erasing ‘decades of public health progress’ and leaving HHS ‘unable to execute many of its most vital functions.’

Such actions, they argue, are ‘in violation of Congress’s instructions, the U.S. Constitution, and the many statutes that govern the Department’s programs and appropriate funds for it to administer.’

These actions included terminating 10,000 full-time employees, collapsing 28 agencies into 15, and closing half of HHS’s 10 regional offices. 

James cited many of these issues directly in the press conference Monday, taking aim at the administration for systematically depriving HHS of the ‘resources necessary to do its job.’

The government has ‘all but stopped testing for measles in the middle of an unprecedented measles outbreak,’ James said. 

New York’s Wadsworth Center, she noted, is one of the ‘only labs in the country still equipped to detect rare infectious diseases’ and is ‘scrambling to fill the void left by a hollowed-out CDC.’

Her remarks come after HHS announced thousands of layoffs in March and April, including at the FDA, the CDC and NIH. The reductions were in keeping with a Department of Government Efficiency-led push for agencies to slash the size of the federal workforce and trim government spending, prompting criticism from Democrats and some Republicans.

These cuts included terminating HHS employees tasked with determining SNAP and Medicaid eligibility for low-income or disabled Americans; the firing of the CDC’s entire maternal health team; and the gutting of mental health and substance abuse services and personnel.

‘None of these layoffs were necessary to accommodate a funding shortfall – Congress’s appropriations have remained steady, or in many cases, grown in recent years,’ the plaintiffs said in their lawsuit.

‘All told, 20,000 full-time employees – almost twenty-five percent of HHS headcount – would be terminated in a few months to save, by Defendants’ own estimate, less than one percent of HHS expenditures.’

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit asked to halt HHS efforts to dismantle the HHS-led agencies and programs that were cut as a result of the reorganization. States are also seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent what they described as the ‘unconstitutional and illegal dismantling of the Department.’

The lawsuit is not the first time James, a longtime foe of the current president, has sparred with Trump since the start of his second presidential term.

To date, she’s joined Democrat attorneys general in more than a dozen other lawsuits challenging his early actions.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

previous post
Hegseth orders ‘historic’ reduction in general officers in the military
next post
Israel strikes Yemen’s port city in response to Houthi attack on Tel Aviv Airport

Related Posts

The OECD’s Warning to America: Economic Growth Is...

October 7, 2025

Will Bitcoin Strengthen or Weaken US Dollar Dominance?

October 7, 2025

Semiconductor Giants with Tech-Industrial Ambitions

October 7, 2025

Self-described ‘unapologetic supporter of Israel’ John Fetterman weighs...

October 7, 2025

More lawmakers say they’re rejecting paychecks as government...

October 7, 2025

Trump flips his shutdown approach, leaving Congress to...

October 7, 2025

Mike Johnson fires back at Hakeem Jeffries’ ‘desperate’...

October 7, 2025

Schumer’s shutdown scheme explained: Dems double down on...

October 7, 2025

Schumer’s shutdown holds as Senate Dems block GOP...

October 7, 2025

Kennedy claims Democrats want millions for foreign LGBT...

October 7, 2025

Stay updated with the latest news, exclusive offers, and special promotions. Sign up now and be the first to know! As a member, you'll receive curated content, insider tips, and invitations to exclusive events. Don't miss out on being part of something special.

By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

Recent Posts

  • The OECD’s Warning to America: Economic Growth Is Slipping

    October 7, 2025
  • Semiconductor Giants with Tech-Industrial Ambitions

    October 7, 2025
  • Will Bitcoin Strengthen or Weaken US Dollar Dominance?

    October 7, 2025
  • Asian markets open: Nikkei hits another record high, Sensex up 140 pts

    October 7, 2025
  • Top reasons why the Topix and Nikkei 225 indices are soaring

    October 7, 2025
  • Goldman Sachs boosts 2026 gold price forecast to $4,900 amid strong demand

    October 7, 2025

Editors’ Picks

  • 1

    Meta executives eligible for 200% salary bonus under new pay structure

    February 21, 2025
  • 2

    Walmart earnings preview: What to expect before Thursday’s opening bell

    February 20, 2025
  • 3

    New FBI leader Kash Patel tapped to run ATF as acting director

    February 23, 2025
  • 4

    Cramer reveals a sub-sector of technology that can withstand Trump tariffs

    March 1, 2025
  • 5

    Anthropic’s newly released Claude 3.7 Sonnet can ‘think’ as long as the user wants before giving an answer

    February 25, 2025
  • 6

    Nvidia’s investment in SoundHound wasn’t all that significant after all

    March 1, 2025
  • 7

    Pop Mart reports 188% profit surge, plans aggressive global expansion

    March 26, 2025

Categories

  • Economy (2,804)
  • Editor's Pick (280)
  • Investing (185)
  • Stock (1,914)
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Copyright © 2025 Portfolioperformancetoday.com All Rights Reserved.

Portfolio Performance Today
  • Investing
  • Stock
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Portfolio Performance Today
  • Investing
  • Stock
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Copyright © 2025 Portfolioperformancetoday.com All Rights Reserved.

Read alsox

Ratcliffe says new Signal texts show he...

March 27, 2025

Want to Fix Medicaid? Look to Milton...

June 6, 2025

You Can Pay Your Friends on PayPal...

August 11, 2025