FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BALTIMORE, MD (May 5, 2025) – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined 18
attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and other Trump administration officials to
stop the dismantling of HHS. Since taking office, Secretary Kennedy and the Trump
administration have fired thousands of federal health workers, shuttered vital programs, and
abandoned states to face mounting health crises without federal support. The attorneys general
argue that Secretary Kennedy and the Trump administration have robbed HHS of the resources
that Congress appropriated and that are necessary to effectively serve the American people. The
attorneys general will be asking the court to halt further dismantling and restore key program
operations.
“By firing health workers, shutting down disease surveillance labs, and slashing critical
programs, the Trump Administration is putting every Marylander at risk,” said Attorney
General Brown. “We filed this lawsuit because these cuts threaten services that save lives—like
maternal health care, mental health and addiction treatment, and cancer screenings. Our Office
will do everything in our power to protect the millions of Marylanders who depend on these vital
programs.”
On March 27, Secretary Kennedy revealed a dramatic restructuring of HHS as part of the
president’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) initiative. The secretary announced
that the department’s 28 agencies would be collapsed into 15, with many surviving offices
shuffled or split apart. He also announced mass firings, slashing the department’s headcount
from 85,000 to 65,000. On April 1, 10,000 HHS employees across the nation were terminated.
Half of HHS’s regional offices were closed, including offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New
York City, San Francisco and Seattle.
In the lawsuit, the attorneys general argue that these changes unlawfully dismantle a federal
agency and have wreaked havoc across the entire health system. Miners suffering from black
lung disease have been left unprotected as congressionally mandated surveillance programs were
abruptly shut down. Workers across the country can no longer reliably access N95 masks
following the closure of the nation’s only federal mask approval laboratory. Key Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) infectious disease laboratories have also been shuttered,
including those responsible for testing and tracking measles, effectively halting the federal
government’s ability to monitor the disease nationwide.
Hundreds of employees working on mental health and addiction treatment, including half of the
entire workforce at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA), have been fired, and all SAMHSA regional offices are now closed. The World
Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP), which provides life-saving care to more than 137,000
9/11 first responders and survivors, stand to lose the doctors needed to certify new cancer
diagnoses, leaving American heroes without access to the health care they deserve. Pregnant
women and newborns are now at risk after the firing of the entire CDC maternal health team and
Head Start centers could face closures after many regional employees at the Office of Head Start
were let go.
Attorney General Brown and the coalition argue that these sweeping actions are in clear violation
of hundreds of federal statutes and regulations, and that the Trump administration does not have
the authority to make these reckless changes. The attorneys general allege that by taking these
actions without congressional approval, the administration is disregarding the constitutional
separation of powers and undermining the laws and budgets enacted by Congress to protect
public health. Since its founding, HHS has worked to protect and advance the health and wellbeing of all Americans. The attorneys general assert that now, under this recent restructuring,
that mission is in jeopardy.
The coalition is urging the court to halt the mass firings, reverse the illegal reorganization, and
restore the critical health services that millions of Americans depend on.
On April 1, Attorney General Brown joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general in filing a
lawsuit against Secretary Kennedy and the Trump administration for abruptly and unlawfully
slashing billions of dollars in vital state health funding. On April 4, a federal judge issued a
temporary restraining order against the administration, temporarily reinstating the funding.
In filing this lawsuit, Attorney General Brown joins the attorneys general of Arizona, California,
Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‛i, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New
Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.