State Lawsuit Takes Aim at Kennedy Jr.’s Controversial Health Department Decisions

FDA headquarters entrance with large office building

Twenty blue states file a lawsuit challenging RFK Jr.’s 10,000 job cuts at Health and Human Services as unconstitutional power grab while the Trump administration defends them as necessary efficiency measures.

Key Insights

  • California leads 19 other states in a lawsuit filed in Rhode Island federal court to block 10,000 HHS job cuts ordered by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
  • The lawsuit claims the cuts violate constitutional principles by bypassing Congress’s spending authority and have already caused critical health services to halt abruptly.
  • Kennedy defends the $1.8 billion in annual savings as necessary to eliminate waste and refocus the department on chronic illness prevention, while admitting up to 20% of cuts may have been mistakes.
  • Multiple federal health agencies including the FDA and CDC have reportedly suspended essential functions, with vaccine deadlines missed and disease testing halted.

States Challenge Kennedy’s Authority to Cut Health Department

A coalition of 20 predominantly Democratic-led states has launched a legal battle against the Trump administration’s dramatic restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island, directly challenges HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s directive to eliminate 10,000 positions, consolidate department divisions, and close multiple regional offices including the San Francisco location. The legal challenge represents the latest conflict between blue states and the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape federal agencies.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who has now filed 17 lawsuits against the Trump administration, is leading the charge. The legal complaint contends that Kennedy’s actions violate both constitutional principles and the Administrative Procedure Act by circumventing Congress’s authority over federal spending. The states argue that the executive branch cannot unilaterally decide to dismantle a department created and funded by Congress through proper legislative channels.

Immediate Impacts Reported Across Health Services

The lawsuit describes a department thrown into disarray when termination notices went out on April 1, 2025. According to court documents, employees were immediately locked out of email accounts, work laptops, and offices, bringing critical health functions to an abrupt halt. The complaint details specific failures already occurring, including missed vaccine application deadlines at the FDA and canceled testing for infectious diseases like hepatitis and bird flu virus, leaving Americans potentially vulnerable to preventable health risks.

“On April 1, 2025, when the termination notices went out and employees were immediately expelled from their work email, laptops, and offices, work across the vast and complicated Department came to a sudden halt,” according to the lawsuit. “Throughout HHS, critical offices were left unable to perform statutory functions. There was no one to answer the phone, factories went into shutdown mode, experiments were abandoned, trainings were canceled, site visits were postponed, application portals were closed, laboratories stopped testing for infectious diseases, such as hepatitis, and partnerships were immediately suspended.” states the lawsuit.

The cuts have reportedly affected multiple health agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and programs such as Head Start that serve vulnerable populations. The states are seeking an injunction to immediately halt the restructuring, reverse the terminations, and restore health services they claim are mandated by law to protect public health and welfare.

Kennedy Defends Cuts as Necessary Efficiency Measures

Secretary Kennedy has defended the restructuring as a necessary measure to eliminate wasteful spending and bureaucracy at HHS. The department claims the cuts will save approximately $1.8 billion annually while enabling a stronger focus on Kennedy’s health priorities. In public statements, Kennedy has emphasized his intention to redirect resources toward addressing chronic illness through safe food, clean water, and eliminating environmental toxins rather than continuing what he characterizes as inefficient legacy programs.

“bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient”

HHS representatives maintain that the restructuring aligns with President Trump’s executive order to eliminate waste and redundancy in federal agencies. Kennedy has acknowledged that implementation may have been imperfect, estimating that perhaps 20% of the reductions were mistakes that could be reconsidered. The Trump administration contends that streamlining government operations was a central campaign promise and that voters endorsed this approach by electing him to a second term. The case is expected to move quickly through the courts given the states’ claims of ongoing public health impacts.

Sources:

  1. 20 Blue States Sue to Reverse HHS Cuts
  2. California and other states sue to block Trump administration cuts to health department

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR