According to the AGs, “the foreseeable end of the COVID-19 pandemic” is not a lawful basis to terminate “for cause” as the Trump administration has done with the public health funding.
“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,” their complaint says. “Nor did Congress limit the funding at issue here to the period of the COVID-19 emergency.”
During the pandemic, members of Congress made “wide-ranging public health investments” extending beyond COVID-19 and the immediate public health emergency, according to the states suing Trump.
After the pandemic was over, they reviewed COVID-19-related laws and rescinded $27 billion in funds, but chose to leave the $11 billion in place that’s now being targeted, the AGs say.
“The Trump administration’s illegal and irresponsible decision to claw back life-saving health funding is an attack on the well-being of millions of Americans,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Tuesday.
“Slashing this funding now 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.”
Attempts by Law&Crime to reach HHS for comment were unsuccessful.
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