Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, with 19 attorneys general, today filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to stop the dismantling of HHS. Since January, thousands of federal health workers have been fired, vital programs have been shuttered, and states face mounting health crises without federal support.
Raoul and the attorneys general argue that Kennedy and the Trump administration have robbed HHS of the resources necessary to effectively serve the American people and will ask the court to halt further dismantling and restore key program operations.
“Since its founding, HHS has administered crucial offices and programs dedicated to protecting and advancing the health and well-being of all Americans. Programs like Head Start are critical to ensuring all children have access to resources that put them on an early path to success. And tracking diseases like the measles is more important than ever,” Raoul said. “I am proud to once again stand with my colleagues, this time urging the court to halt the mass firings, reverse the illegal reorganization and restore critical health services Illinoisans and all Americans depend on.”
On March 27, it was announced HHS’ restructuring was part of the president’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. Kennedy said the department’s 28 agencies would be reduced to 15, with many surviving offices shuffled or split apart. He also announced mass firings by reducing the department’s headcount from 85,000 to 65,000 employees. Then, on April 1, 10,000 HHS employees across the nation were terminated and half of HHS’s regional offices closed, including an office in Chicago.
In the lawsuit, Raoul and the coalition explain that these changes have wreaked havoc across the entire health system. For example, miners suffering from black lung disease have been left unprotected as congressionally mandated surveillance programs were abruptly shut down. Workers across the country can no longer reliably access N95 masks following the closure of the nation’s only federal mask approval laboratory. Key Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) infectious disease laboratories have also been closed, including those responsible for testing and tracking measles, effectively halting the federal government’s ability to monitor the disease nationwide.
The lawsuit goes on to explain that hundreds of employees working on mental health and addiction treatment, including half of the entire workforce at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), have been fired, and all SAMHSA regional offices are now closed. Pregnant women and newborns are also now at risk after the firing of the entire CDC maternal health team. In addition, Head Start centers could face closures after many regional employees at the Office of Head Start were let go.
Attorney General Raoul and the coalition argue that these sweeping actions implicate hundreds of federal statutes and regulations. The attorneys general allege that by taking these actions without congressional approval, the administration is disregarding the constitutional separation of powers and undermining the laws and budgets enacted by Congress to protect public health.
Today’s action follows a lawsuit Attorney General Raoul and a coalition of 23 attorneys general filed April 1 against Kennedy and the Trump administration for abruptly and unlawfully slashing billions of dollars in vital state health funding. On April 4, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against the administration, temporarily reinstating the funding.
Joining Attorney General Raoul in filing this lawsuit are attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
