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TRENTON — New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today joined a coalition of 23 states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for abruptly and illegally terminating nearly $11 billion in critical public health grants to the states, including more than $350 million in federal funding for New Jersey.  As part of the lawsuit, the states are also seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the Trump Administration’s cuts from taking effect.

The lawsuit filed today challenges HHS’s sudden termination of hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding to New Jersey.  The termination of this funding would gut key public health initiatives in New Jersey to fight the spread of infectious diseases like bird flu and measles, to provide our residents with critical mental health and substance abuse services, to expand access to vaccinations, and to strengthen the state’s emergency preparedness.

“Instead of looking out for our health, the Trump Administration is putting us in harm’s way.  Cutting hundreds of millions of dollars isn’t just illegal; it’s also reckless.  These damaging cuts will jeopardize services for people experiencing a mental health crisis or struggling with addiction, deprive patients at community health centers of the care they need, and make us more vulnerable to the spread of deadly infectious diseases,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Stripping our state of $350 million in Congressionally-authorized funding violates the law, plain and simple.  We are standing up for our residents and for public health with this lawsuit, and we will keep fighting to get this critical funding back.”

Congress authorized and appropriated new and increased funding for these grants in legislation that was enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic to support critical public health needs. Many of these grants are from specific programs created by Congress, such as block grants to states for mental health and substance abuse and addiction services.

Nonetheless, HHS on March 24 and March 25 arbitrarily terminated these grants “for cause” effective immediately, claiming that the pandemic is over and the grants are no longer necessary.

The grant terminations, which came with no warning or legally valid explanation, have caused chaos for state health agencies that continue to rely on these critical funds for a wide range of urgent public health needs.  Those cuts are happening at a time when emerging disease threats, including measles and bird flu, are already on the rise.

In their lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, the coalition of attorneys general asserts that the termination of grants violates federal law.  As the complaint alleges, federal law allows “for cause” terminations in this context when the grant recipient fails to materially comply with the grant agreement.  The complaint alleges that the end of the pandemic is not an appropriate “for cause” basis for termination of the grant.

The coalition of attorneys general also asserts that HHS’s termination of grants violates the Administrative Procedure (APA) because the termination is arbitrary and capricious.  According to the complaint, HHS assumed—without any legal support—that the laws authorizing the grants were only intended for use during the pandemic, when in fact the underlying appropriations laws demonstrate just the opposite.

With this lawsuit, Attorney General Platkin and the coalition are also seeking a temporary restraining order to halt Secretary Kennedy’s and HHS’s mass grant terminations in the suing states.

New Jersey joins the Attorneys General of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota New Mexico, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin and the Governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania in this litigation.

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