Attorney General Bonta Files Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Over Unlawful Termination of $11 Billion in Critical Public Health Funding

9th lawsuit against Trump Administration argues that abrupt termination of federal funds is unlawful 

Funding was appropriated by Congress in response to COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that U.S. is better prepared for future public health threats 

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced co-leading a coalition of 23 states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. over the unlawful termination of $11 billion in critical public health funding. Beginning on March 24, 2025, HHS abruptly, with no advance notice or warning, issued termination notices to state and local public health agencies across the country, purporting to end federal funding for grants that provide essential support for a wide range of urgent public health needs, including identifying, tracking, and addressing infectious diseases; ensuring access to immunizations; and modernizing critical public health infrastructure. The federal funding was appropriated by Congress to ensure the United States is better prepared for future public health threats. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, the lawsuit by the attorneys general alleges that the termination notices are unlawful in several ways under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The coalition is also seeking a temporary restraining order to maintain the status quo and immediately restore the public health funding due to the irreparable harm that their respective states and their local health jurisdictions would otherwise suffer. California stands to lose more than $972 million from these cancellations by HHS.

“Over and over, I’ve made clear that my office will only take legal action against the Trump Administration when it breaks the law. Unfortunately, but predictably, that has happened once again,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Congress explicitly authorized funding for the grants at issue to help keep our country healthy and protect us from future pandemics. HHS and its Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., cannot unilaterally do away with that critical federal funding. My fellow attorneys general and I are committed to defending the rule of law. We know how high the stakes are in our respective states — thousands of jobs and key public health programs and initiatives could be eliminated.” 

According to the Trump Administration, funding for the grants is “no longer necessary” because the grants were appropriated through one or more COVID-19 related laws, and the COVID-19 pandemic is over. In the lawsuit, the attorneys general allege: 

• The termination notices violate the APA because they are contrary to law. The foreseeable end of the COVID-19 pandemic is not a lawful basis to terminate “for cause.” Terminations “for cause” are only permissible based on a grant recipient’s “material failure” to comply with the applicable terms and conditions of the grants and agreements. The Trump Administration has never alleged, much less demonstrated, any failure by the fund recipients to comply with the applicable terms and conditions of the grants and agreements. In addition, federal law requires the HHS Secretary to “provide to the State involved adequate notice and an opportunity for a hearing” prior to terminating Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grants, which fund mental health and substance abuse services. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. provided absolutely no notice or opportunity for a hearing before terminating the grants, effective immediately.
• The termination notices further violate the APA because they are arbitrary and capricious. Among other things, they assumed, with no legal or factual support, that all appropriations in COVID-19 related laws were only intended for use during the pandemic. In fact, HHS granted numerous extensions to the performance period of many grants issued to Plaintiff States and their local health jurisdictions, some of which were scheduled to end as late as June 2027. The termination notices are also arbitrary and capricious because they failed to undertake any individualized assessments of the grants or cooperative agreements, including any analysis of the benefits of this public health funding or the dire consequences of termination. 
• The Trump Administration’s unlawful withholding of funds has already caused substantial confusion and will result in immediate and devastating harm to their states, their local health jurisdictions, their residents, and public health writ large.

Without this essential public health funding, vital programs that serve millions of Californians, including children, rural communities, and nursing homes, will be jeopardized. For example, the federal government terminated over $800 million that the California Department of Public Health intended to use, in part, to vaccinate 4.5 million children statewide and assist hospitals in directing injured and ill patients to available health facilities during all types of emergencies, where efficient routing saves lives. The California Department of Health Care Services is set to lose over $119 million, which the state needs to support key programs, including substance use disorder prevention and early intervention services for youth in at least 18 counties. And the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health will lose over $45 million that was slated, in part, to strengthen the County’s efforts to prevent the spread of measles, and seasonal and avian influenza. 

Attorney General Bonta is co-leading the litigation with the attorneys general of Colorado, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Washington. They are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and Wisconsin, as well as the Governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania. 

A copy of the complaint is available here.