'Reckless' $200M Funding Cut Could Put MD Lives At Risk, AG Says

MARYLAND — After the Trump Administration said it was cutting nearly $12 billion in funding to states for health crises and eliminating 10,000 Department of Human Services jobs, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown joined a coalition of 24 attorneys general and governors in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The legal action taken against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is "for abruptly and illegally terminating" the critical public health grants to states, the lawsuit said.

The federal grants to Maryland and other states were used to fund such things as infectious disease tracking, immunization clinics, mental health services, addiction treatment and other emerging health needs.

"The Trump Administration’s reckless and unlawful termination of $11 billion in critical public health grants is a dangerous assault on our state’s ability to protect our residents when infectious diseases like the measles or bird flu are on the rise,” Brown said. “I am outraged that the president would cut this lifeline with zero warning, threatening to dismantle vital health services our communities depend on. I will fight with every legal tool available to reverse this indefensible decision before it costs Marylanders their lives."

According to Brown's office, the state stands to lose $200 million from these cancellations by HHS.

If the funding is not restored, state public health programs and initiatives will have to be dissolved or disbanded, including funding to support vaccination programs, track disease outbreaks, and alleviate health disparities.

The coalition warns that the HHS cuts threaten the urgent public health needs of states at a time when emerging disease threats — such as measles and bird flu — are on the rise.

In their lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, the coalition asserts that the mass terminations violate federal law because the end of the pandemic is not a "for cause" basis for ending the grants, as none of the appropriated funds are tied to that.

Through the lawsuit, Brown and the coalition are seeking a temporary restraining order to invalidate HHS' mass grant terminations in the suing states, arguing the actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act.

Joining Brown in sending this letter are the attorneys general of Arizona California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Washington, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.