A federal judge in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday blocking the Trump Administration’s plans to undertake a sweeping reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would have terminated approximately 10,000 employees and drastically restructured critical public health programs.
On March 27, HHS announced plans to “streamline the functions” of HHS by consolidating 28 divisions down to 15 divisions, collapsing 10 regional offices into five regional offices, and creating a new division called Administration for a Healthy America (AHA).
On May 5, 19 states and the District of Columbia sued HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and a slew of other federal officials, alleging the restructuring plan violated federal law and the US Constitution by systematically dismantling HHS in violation of congressional mandates that authorize the department to spend $2.5 trillion annually on critical health programs. Shortly thereafter, the plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction to halt the planned restructuring. HHS challenged the motions on jurisdictional and other grounds.
The case highlights ongoing tensions between executive branch authority, congressional oversight of federal agencies, and judicial efforts to maintain the balance of powers. In closing, DuBose quoted a fellow district judge who stated, “we may choose to survive as a country by respecting our Constitution, the laws and norms of political and civic behavior, and by educating our children on civics, the rule of law, and what it really means to be an American, and what America means. Or, we may ignore these things at our and their peril.”
This article has been revised to correct multiple factual errors.
