24 States Sue HHS Over Cancellation of Billions in COVID-Era Funding

The states said in the suit that ’the foreseeable end of the COVID-19 pandemic is not a lawful basis to terminate the funding.’

Government signage for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Baltimore, Md., on Feb. 17, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

State attorneys general and governors are suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over the agency’s recent cancellation of billions in funding allocated to health departments during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The HHS’s decision to pull back some $12 billion in funding was made without proper cause, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, the suit says.

Government officials said that ending the grants and agreements was done because they were “issued for a limited purpose: to ameliorate the effects of the pandemic.”

“Now that the pandemic is over, the grants and cooperative agreements are no longer necessary as their limited purpose has run out,” they said.

The states said in the suit that “the foreseeable end of the COVID-19 pandemic is not a lawful basis to terminate ‘for cause,’” referring to a requirement in federal law.

“Defendants have never alleged, much less demonstrated, any failure by fund recipients to comply with the applicable terms and conditions of the grants and agreements. Nor did Congress limit the funding at issue here to the period of the COVID-19 emergency,” they said.

The allocations were made by Congress through various laws, including the $2.1 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in 2020.

The attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington state, the District of Columbia, and Wisconsin filed the suit in federal court in Rhode Island. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro joined the suit. All the plaintiffs are Democrats. The attorneys general of Kentucky and Pennsylvania are Republicans and are not part of the legal challenge.

The states are asking the court to vacate the cancellations, declare them illegal, and bar the HHS from implementing the cancellations or reinstating them “without required statutory or regulatory process.”

The HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement that rescinding the funding “will reverse our progress on the opioid crisis, throw our mental health systems into chaos, and leave hospitals struggling to care for patients.”

“My office is taking immediate action to stop this heartless and shortsighted move and ensure these life-saving programs remain intact,” she said.

An HHS spokesperson said previously that the money was meant for COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and other pandemic services. The spokesperson said the funds remained unutilized.