Democratic-led states sue to block Trump from $11 billion health funding cut

By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) -A group of Democratic-led states on Tuesday sued Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to challenge its cancellation of $11 billion in federal grants the states were allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attorneys general and governors from 23 states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Rhode Island argue the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services lacks the authority to unilaterally claw back funding the states had already built health programs around.

The grant funding was being used by states to track, prevent and control infectious diseases, including measles and bird flu, as well as track mental health services and fund addiction treatment.

The slash in funding was the latest wave of cuts to be overseen by new Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The department said the funds were largely used for COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and other responses to the pandemic in announcing the termination of the grants last week.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago," the department said at the time.

The funding included sums from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for pandemic preparedness, overdose prevention and community health programs, and from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for addiction treatment and suicide prevention.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot)