Feds plan to take over Texas lawsuit against Planned Parenthood

The federal government plans to jump into the lawsuit outgoing Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined against Planned Parenthood over $10 million in Medicaid payments. The U.S. Justice Department notified a federal court that it will intervene days after Democrat Nathan Johnson was elected state attorney general.

Texas joined the lawsuit in 2022, accusing Planned Parenthood of improperly billing Medicaid during the period that the state was trying to kick the organization from the payment program. The state is also seeking more than $1.8 billion in reimbursement, penalties and fees — an existential threat for Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood, which has called the lawsuit “meritless,” said Sunday that it will continue fighting what it called an effort to bully the organization out of business.

“The Trump administration has spent two years trying to shut down Planned Parenthood through legislative, administrative, and legal attacks,” Susan Baker Manning, a senior vice president for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. “Now, they are going to use the Department of Justice to try again.”

The case is expected to go to trial next year, as both sides have jointly proposed a start date in April 2027. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee who had worked on anti-abortion cases as a lawyer, is the presiding judge.

Paxton’s office didn’t immediately provide comment. A spokesperson for Johnson also didn’t immediately respond.

Paxton, the lawsuit’s champion, lost his bid for the U.S. Senate last week. His defeat and Johnson’s win were part of a sweeping midterm election loss for Republicans and stunning victory for Democrats across the state. The change is also poised to disrupt the Texas attorney general’s office, which has long served to advance the conservative agenda through the courts.

Johnson has yet to definitively say how he would move forward with this case. He has so far told The New York Times, which first reported about the impending federal intervention, that he would review all lawsuits that Paxton pursued including this fight against Planned Parenthood. The attorney general-elect said he would then “take appropriate action in the interests” of Texas when he takes office in January.

Johnson, however, has already said that he will not sue out-of-state doctors for mailing abortion pills to people in Texas.

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