A federal judge on Tuesday issued a significant ruling halting the Trump administration’s sweeping plans to restructure the US Health Agencies and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose of Rhode Island granted an injunction sought by 19 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia, challenging HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s March initiative to reorganize multiple agencies and cut 10,000 jobs. The plan had already reduced HHS’s workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 through layoffs, buyouts, and the dismissal of probationary employees. The states argued that the move severely hampered the department’s capacity to fulfill its legal responsibilities.
Kennedy’s plan also aimed to collapse 28 HHS divisions into 15 and shut down five of the department’s ten regional offices. However, the states focused their legal challenge on preventing restructures at four key agencies: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Office of Head Start, the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Judge DuBose, a Biden appointee, ruled that these actions were likely “arbitrary and capricious” and not in line with the law.
Judge Cites Executive Overreach in Decision
In her written opinion, Judge DuBose emphasized the limits of executive authority, stating, “The US Health Agencies Executive Branch does not have the authority to order, organize, or implement wholesale changes to the structure and function of the agencies created by Congress.” Her injunction blocks further layoffs and restructuring within the specified agencies, which plaintiffs argued were essential to maintaining public health and education services. The ruling came just a day before the planned terminations were to take effect. Some employees had already been reinstated due to mounting concerns about the impact on public health.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, representing one of the lead plaintiffs, welcomed the ruling. “Today’s order guarantees these programs and services will remain accessible and halts the administration’s attempt to sabotage our nation’s health care system,” she said in a statement. The plaintiffs had presented evidence that the restructuring resulted in laboratory closures, abandoned research, and suspended partnerships, severely limiting the CDC’s ability to investigate infectious diseases and threatening the operations of Head Start centers.
HHS Defends Plan Despite Legal Setback
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon responded to the ruling with criticism, asserting that the department “strongly disagreed” with the court’s decision. He defended the overhaul as part of an effort to modernize and streamline an “inefficient and resistant” bureaucracy. The plan was part of a broader initiative by Republican President Donald Trump and entrepreneur Elon Musk under the Department of Government Efficiency, which aimed to reduce federal spending and downsize government operations.
Despite the administration’s rationale,f US Health Agencies Democratic state attorneys general maintained that Secretary Kennedy had overstepped his authority. Their May lawsuit warned that the reorganization would lead to the dismantling of vital public health infrastructure and early education support programs. The court’s ruling now halts these controversial changes, preserving the status quo of critical health agencies, at least for the time being.
