New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s “unconstitutional dismantling” of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the New York attorney general’s office said in a statement on Monday.
“This administration is not streamlining the federal government; they are sabotaging it and all of us,” said James.
An HHS spokesperson said in a statement to CSP Daily News on Tuesday that “We are following the law, period. Nothing has been rushed and multiple rounds of discussions between divisions and HHS occurred before the announcement. Every step taken has been deliberate, collaborative, and consistent with federal personnel policy and civil service protections. To suggest otherwise is inaccurate and misrepresents the integrity and facts of the process.”
The spokesperson added that “the reforms are designed to strengthen the agency’s capacity to serve the American public, not weaken it. HHS remains confident that the process will withstand legal scrutiny and looks forward to a resolution that reflects the facts and the law.”
On March 27, HHS announced a major restructuring, which it said results in a total downsizing from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees. HHS said the overhaul includes consolidation of 28 divisions of HHS into 15 new divisions, a move that would save taxpayers $1.8 billion per year.
Historically, HHS has overseen tobacco-related programs, such as prevention and control, public education, regulatory science and more. It oversees the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).
“Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves.”
James and the coalition of attorneys general assert the impacts of this restructuring have been immediate and disastrous.
In a statement on Monday, James said the programs serving children and low-income families have been particularly devastated. “The administration fired staff responsible for maintaining the federal poverty guidelines, which states rely on to determine eligibility for food assistance like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),” the attorney general’s office said.
James and the coalition write in the lawsuit that “the terminations and reorganizations happened quickly, but the consequences are severe, complicated, drawn-out, and potentially irreversible.”
Former CTP Director Brian King was removed from his position last month amid mass layoffs at HHS.
On April 21, a group of Democratic senators, led by Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts) sent a letter to HHS also expressing concern over the FDA’s CTP cuts.
“Dozens of staffers at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products have been placed on administrative leave, including the Center’s director, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) has been gutted. These actions risk undermining progress that has been made in reducing the death, disease and addiction caused by tobacco use,” the senators wrote. “Without these critical staff, we are concerned that more youth will start using tobacco products, fewer people will quit and more people will become ill and die from tobacco-caused disease.”
Last week, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent President Trump’s topline discretionary budget request for fiscal year 2026 to the U.S. Congress.
“At this critical moment, we need a historic budget—one that ends the funding of our decline, puts Americans first, and delivers unprecedented support to our military and homeland security. The president’s budget does all of that,” said Russ Vought, director of the OMB, in a statement.
The budget, which calls for cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prompted reaction from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
“The administration’s fiscal 2026 budget plan released Friday includes devastating funding cuts to the CDC and other health agencies,” said Yolonda C. Richardson, president and CEO, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in a statement. “It would eliminate lifesaving public health programs such as the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, which includes the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health.”
Joining James in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
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