A federal judge has issued a major setback to the Trump administration and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., blocking mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and declaring the cuts likely unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose ruled in favor of a coalition of attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia, who challenged the sweeping terminations and structural overhaul of the HHS. In her decision, DuBose stated that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that “HHS’s action was both arbitrary and capricious as well as contrary to law.”
“The 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,” DuBose wrote. She also noted that the actions had caused “irreparable harm” to public health systems in affected states.
The ruling temporarily halts the layoff of more than 10,000 federal health employees and blocks the consolidation of 28 federal health agencies into just 15 — a move initiated by Kennedy in March under his “Make America Healthy Again” directive. The HHS has been ordered to submit a status report by July 11.
According to the Associated Press, agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have already walked back hundreds of layoffs in departments overseeing hepatitis, HIV, and other diseases. The broad cuts also impacted programs regulating food safety, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, and maternal and infant health.
The controversial downsizing was said to mirror past efforts by Elon Musk’s short-lived Department of Government Efficiency. However, critics argue that the restructuring gutted essential health programs and unfairly shifted the financial burden onto state governments.
“The intended effect … was the wholesale elimination of many HHS programs that are critical to public health and safety,” the states’ lawsuit argued. DuBose’s ruling applies to layoffs at several high-profile offices within HHS, including the CDC, the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, the Office of Head Start, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
Kennedy, who has long been a lightning rod for controversy, admitted earlier this year that “mistakes” had been made, and as many as 20% of terminated employees might be reinstated.
Kennedy’s history of promoting discredited health claims continues to draw condemnation from his own family. His sister, Kerry Kennedy, described his COVID-19 conspiracy theories as “deplorable and untruthful,” while his brother, Joseph Kennedy II, labeled them “morally and factually wrong” and said they pandered to antisemitic rhetoric and misinformation.