Attorney General Phil Weiser sues HHS, Secretary Kennedy to overturn illegal public health grant cuts

April 1, 2025 (DENVER) – Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser today co-led a coalition of 23 states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for abruptly and illegally terminating $11 billion in critical public health grants (PDF download) to the states.

The grant terminations, which came with no warning or legally valid explanation, have quickly caused chaos for state health agencies that continue to rely on these critical funds for a wide range of urgent public health needs such as infectious disease management, fortifying emergency preparedness, providing mental health and substance abuse services, and modernizing public health infrastructure.

Colorado stands to lose more than $229 million from these cancellations by HHS. If the funding is not restored, important state public health programs and initiatives will have to be dissolved or disbanded, including immunization distribution, training for local public health agencies focused on infectious disease surveillance and investigation, lab services, and replacing worn out lab equipment. These cuts also will have a negative impact on Colorado’s most vulnerable residents seeking behavioral health and substance abuse treatment, including high-risk children and individuals with serious mental illness.

The HHS cuts threaten the urgent public health needs of states around the country at a time when emerging disease threats—such as measles and bird flu—are on the rise, Attorney General Weiser warned.

“America just went through a pandemic—one that erased jobs throughout the country, upended our lives, and caused the deaths of thousands of Coloradans. The public health impacts of that pandemic continue to linger, including mental health and substance abuse challenges. This action of Secretary Kennedy to defund committed grants for public health and behavioral health purposes is inexplicable, illegal, and will cause untold damage to Colorado,” said Attorney General Weiser. “I will always fight to protect Colorado and challenge illegal and harmful actions like this one.”

Congress authorized and appropriated new and increased funding for these grants in COVID-19-related legislation 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. Yet, with no legal authority or explanation, Secretary Kennedy’s HHS agencies on March 24 arbitrarily terminated these grants “for cause” effective immediately claiming that the pandemic is over and the grants are no longer necessary.

In their lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, the coalition of attorneys general assert that the mass terminations violate federal law because the end of the pandemic is not a “for cause” basis for ending the grants, especially since none of the appropriated funds are tied to the end of the pandemic which occurred more than a year ago. HHS’ position, up until a few days ago, was that the end of the pandemic did not affect the availability of these grant funds. Moreover, for some of the grants, termination “for cause” is not a permissible basis for termination, yet the federal government unlawfully terminated them.

With this lawsuit, Attorney General Weiser and the coalition are seeking a temporary restraining order to invalidate Secretary Kennedy’s and HHS’ mass grant terminations in the suing states, arguing that the actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act. The states are also asking the court to prevent HHS from maintaining or reinstating the terminations and any agency actions implementing them.

Joining Attorney General Weiser in co-leading the litigation are Attorney General Rob Bonta of California, Attorney General Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Attorney General Peter Neronha of Rhode Island and Attorney General Nick Brown of 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, and the Governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

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Media Contact:
Lawrence Pacheco
Chief Communications Officer
(720) 508-6553 office | (720) 245-4689 cell
lawrence.pacheco@coag.gov