Wisconsin joins lawsuit to block Trump administration cuts to HHS

Wisconsin has joined 18 states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit to block cuts and consolidations at the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that are part of the Trump administration’s objective to dismantle the department.

In Wisconsin, federal actions at HHS have cut off funding to address lead poisoning in Milwaukee schools, monitor and reduce maternal death and discourage young people from using tobacco, Kaul’s office said in announcing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit describes wholesale firings and department closings, many carried out under the auspices of “DOGE” — the Trump administration operation headed by Elon Musk that has gone into numerous government agencies, cutting staff and canceling funding. “DOGE” stands for “Department of Government Efficiency,” but it is not an official federal department.

The office of Gov. Tony Evers said Monday that in Wisconsin, those reductions are halting testing and oversight for bird flu; disrupting Head Start early education and child care programs; ending a program to offset high utility bills; and defunding substance abuse and mental health assistance programs.

“These devastating decisions will jeopardize the health and safety of Wisconsinites and our communities, all so Republicans can help pay for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires,” Evers said in a statement, adding that they were part of a plan to “undermine the constitutional checks and balances in our system that help ensure no one has the sole power to make decisions like this unchecked.”

Attorney General Josh Kaul said that a “dangerous mix of conspiracy theories and the extreme ideology reflected by DOGE are causing a staggering amount of damage to the extraordinarily important work of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, resulting in increased and unnecessary risk to people’s health and wellbeing.”

The federal actions were carried out under a directive issued March 27, the lawsuit says. It charges that through those actions, “the administration is seeking to dismantle HHS and its agencies, first by firing their staff and then by fully eliminating the funding” to a series of HHS programs.

“The terminations and reorganizations happened quickly, but the consequences are severe, complicated, and potentially irreversible,” the lawsuit states. “Plaintiff States are already suffering consequences of these terminations and reorganizations.”

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Rhode Island. It charges those actions are illegal for blocking spending already appropriated by Congress.

“Congress created HHS and has invested enormous sums into it every year without interruption, and the congressional mandates remain in place today,” the lawsuit charges. “Much of that investment was lost in a day through the massive firings of HHS’s leaders and staff. More will be lost if nothing is done.”

The lawsuit asserts that the March 27 directive violates the U.S. Constitution. It asks the court to declare the directive unlawful, to vacate it, and to block the administration from carrying it out.