Federal Judge Pauses Trump Administration’s HHS Reorganization

A federal judge in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction on Monday that temporarily blocks the Trump administration’s planned reorganization of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The agency’s proposed restructuring would consolidate the department’s 28 agencies into 15, and several public health offices would be merged or dissolved. The plan also included 20,000 layoffs across HHS agencies, most of which have already taken place. 

New York Attorney General Letitia James led attorneys general from 18 other states and the District of Columbia in challenging the restructuring plan, alleging that the administration violated federal law by implementing sweeping changes without congressional approval and disrupted support for key public health programs.

In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Melissa R. DuBose concluded that the plaintiffs “have shown a likelihood of success on their claims that the HHS’s action was both arbitrary and capricious as well as contrary to law.” She also determined that the states demonstrated irreparable harm and that “the balance of the equities and the public interest weigh in their favor.”

The injunction halts further implementation of the reorganization and blocks layoffs at four HHS agencies: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, the Office of Head Start and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.