Attorney General Phil Weiser sues to stop dismantling of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

May 5, 2025 (DENVER) – Attorney General Phil Weiser today joined 19 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other Trump administration officials to stop the dismantling of HHS.

Since taking office, Secretary Kennedy and the Trump administration have fired thousands of federal health workers, shuttered vital programs, and abandoned states to face mounting health crises without federal support. The attorneys general argue that Secretary Kennedy and the Trump administration have robbed HHS of the resources necessary to effectively serve the American people and will be asking the court to halt further dismantling and restore key program operations.

“Since its founding, HHS has worked to protect and advance the health and well-being of all Americans. Under Secretary’s Kennedy’s recent restructuring, that mission is in jeopardy, with Colorado and other states harmed by the undermining of the agency’s statutory mission to address HIV/AIDs and other infectious diseases, the devastation of its capacity to address behavioral health issues like the opioid crisis, and the destabilization of the Food and Drug Administration,” said Attorney General Weiser. “We are suing to stop the reckless dismantling of HHS and protect the health and security of Coloradans.”

On March 27, Secretary Kennedy revealed a dramatic restructuring of HHS as part of the president’s “Department of Government Efficiency” initiative. The secretary announced that the department’s 28 agencies would collapse into 15, with many surviving offices shuffled or split apart. He also announced mass firings, slashing the department’s headcount from 85,000 to 65,000. On April 1, 10,000 HHS employees across the nation were terminated. Half of HHS’s regional offices were closed, including offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle.

In the lawsuit, the attorneys general argue that these changes have wreaked havoc across the entire health system. Key Centers for Disease Control and Prevention infectious disease laboratories have also been shuttered, including those responsible for testing and tracking measles, effectively halting the federal government’s ability to monitor the disease nationwide. Pregnant women and newborns are now at risk after the firing of the entire CDC maternal health team and Head Start centers could face closures after many regional employees at the Office of Head Start were let go. Additionally, 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, or SAMHSA, have been fired, and all SAMHSA regional offices are now closed.

Attorney General Weiser and the coalition argue that these sweeping actions are in clear violation of hundreds of federal statutes and regulations, and that the Trump administration does not have the authority to make these reckless changes. 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, and now, under this recent restructuring, that mission is in jeopardy.

The coalition is urging the court to halt the mass firings, reverse the illegal reorganization, and restore the critical health services that millions of Americans depend on.

Read the complaint filed today in United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (PDF).

Joining Attorney General Weiser in this lawsuit, which is being led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

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Media Contact:
Lawrence Pacheco
Chief Communications Officer
(720) 508-6553
lawrence.pacheco@coag.gov