Latest news with #MelissaDuBose
Fox News
02-07-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Biden-appointed judge halts Trump HHS overhaul after Democrat-led lawsuit
A Biden-appointed federal judge on Tuesday stepped in to halt the Trump administration's efforts to dramatically reorganize the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued to stop the reforms. HHS announced in March it would be laying off around 20,000 full-time agency employees, while also reducing the number of regional offices across the country and consolidating several HHS divisions. A fact sheet from HHS about the cuts said the reforms were aimed at making the agency more efficient, saving money and ensuring Americans' most critical health needs are adequately met. In response, 19 Democratic state attorneys general sued to block the Trump administration's reforms. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose granted a temporary injunction in their favor. DuBose's ruling Tuesday temporarily blocks the Trump administration from enforcing its proposed workforce reduction or sub-agency restructuring, and HHS was also ordered to file a status report by July 11. "We stand by our original decision to realign this organization with its core mission and refocus a sprawling bureaucracy that, over time, had become wasteful, inefficient and resistant to change," HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in response to the ruling. "The reorganization was designed to restore the department around bold, measurable public health goals like reversing the chronic disease epidemic and advancing U.S. leadership in biomedical research. While we strongly disagree with the decision by a Biden-appointed district court judge, HHS remains committed to modernizing a health workforce that for too long prioritized institutional preservation over meaningful public health impact." Nixon added that HHS is reviewing the decision and considering next steps. Last month, the Supreme Court limited the use of nationwide injunctions to halt President Donald Trump's executive actions. However, the ruling did not shut the door on legal challenges to Trump's executive orders. In DuBose's ruling Tuesday, she asked both parties to address how that ruling affects the scope of her order, if at all, by July 11. "HHS is the backbone of our nation's public health and social safety net – from cancer screenings and maternal health to early childhood education and domestic violence prevention," said New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the 19 state attorneys general who sued to stop the Trump administration's reduction in force at HHS. "Today's order guarantees these programs and services will remain accessible and halts the administration's attempt to sabotage our nation's healthcare system. My office will continue fighting to stop this unlawful dismantling and defend the essential services that protect our most vulnerable communities." Since the Trump administration began its restructuring at HHS, some employees who were let go have been brought back. During a CBS News interview in April, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, in some instances, personnel were cut that should not have been. "We're reinstating them. And that was always the plan. Part of the — at DOGE, we talked about this from the beginning, is we're going to do 80% cuts, but 20% of those are going to have to be reinstated, because we'll make mistakes," Kennedy said in April.
Reuters
01-07-2025
- Health
- Reuters
US judge blocks Trump administration move to overhaul health agencies
July 1 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with plans to overhaul the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by reorganizing several of its agencies and substantially cutting their workforce. U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose in Providence, Rhode Island, issued an injunction, opens new tab at the behest of a group of Democratic-led states who challenged a plan HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in March to consolidate agencies and fire 10,000 of the department's employees. The layoffs, in addition to earlier buyout offers and firings of probationary employees, reduced the number of full-time HHS employees to 62,000 from 82,000 and left key offices unable to perform statutory functions, the states alleged. The 19 states that sued, along with the District of Columbia, challenged HHS' implementation of its restructuring plan, which also called for collapsing 28 divisions into 15 and closing half of its 10 regional offices. While the states argued that the entire plan was unlawful, they focused on having DuBose block firings and restructurings at four agencies within HHS, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Office of Head Start. DuBose, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, agreed to do so, saying the states had established a likelihood of proving HHS' action was 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," she wrote. She ordered HHS to halt mass job cuts and restructurings at the four agencies, which also included the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco Products and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. "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," New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, said in a statement. HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said it strongly disagreed with the ruling and stands by its decision to "refocus a sprawling bureaucracy that, over time, had become wasteful, inefficient, and resistant to change." The ruling came a day before the terminations of the employees were set to become final. Some of the 10,000 employees had already been reinstated following an outcry over the potential for increased risks to public health. The job cuts were part of the effort by Republican President Donald Trump and the Elon Musk-spearheaded Department of Government Efficiency initiative to shrink the federal government and slash spending. Democratic state attorneys general in a lawsuit, opens new tab filed in May argued that the intended effect of the restructuring was to dismantle key HHS programs. They argued that Kennedy lacked the authority to launch the widespread layoffs and restructuring, which have led to infectious disease lab closures, research being abandoned and partnerships suspended. The states said that the cuts left the CDC unable to meet statutory mandates to investigate diseases due to lab closures and put Head Start centers that support early childhood programs at risk of closing.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
HHS layoffs were likely unlawful and must be halted, US judge says
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that recent mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were likely unlawful and ordered the Trump administration to halt plans to downsize and reorganize the nation's health workforce. U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose granted the preliminary injunction sought by a coalition of attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit filed in early May. DuBose said the states had shown 'irreparable harm,' from the cuts and were likely to prevail in their claims 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 in a 58-page order handed down in U.S. district court in Providence. Her order blocks the Trump administration from finalizing layoffs announced in March or issuing any further firings. HHS is directed to file a status report by July 11. The ruling applies to terminated employees in four different divisions of HHS: the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Center for Tobacco Products within the Food and Drug Administration; the Office of Head Start within the Administration for Children and Families and employees of regional offices who work on Head Start matters; and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. eliminated more than 10,000 employees in late March and consolidated 28 agencies to 15. Since then, agencies including the CDC have repeatedly rescinded layoffs affecting hundreds of employees, including in branches that monitor HIV, hepatitis and other diseases. The attorneys general argued that the massive restructuring was arbitrary and outside of the scope of the agency's authority. The lawsuit also says the action decimated essential programs and pushed burdensome costs onto states. 'The intended effect … was the wholesale elimination of many HHS programs that are critical to public health and safety,' the lawsuit argued. The cuts are part of a federal 'Make America Healthy Again' directive to streamline costly agencies and reduce redundancies. Kennedy told senators at a May 14 hearing that there is 'so much chaos and disorganization" at HHS. But the restructuring had eliminated key teams that regulate food safety and drugs, as well as support a wide range of programs for tobacco, HIV prevention and maternal and infant health. Kennedy has since said that because of mistakes, 20% of people fired might be reinstated. The states who joined the lawsuit have Democratic governors, and many of the same states — plus a few others — also sued the Trump administration over $11 billion in cuts to public health funding. A preliminary injunction was granted in that case in mid-May. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Associated Press
01-07-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
US judge says HHS layoffs were likely unlawful and must be halted
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that the recent mass layoffs at the U.S. Health and Human Services were likely unlawful and ordered the Trump administration to halt plans to downsize and reorganize the nation's health workforce. U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose in Rhode Island granted the preliminary injunction sought by a coalition of attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit filed in early May. DuBose said the states had shown 'irreparable harm,' from the cuts and were likely to prevail in their claims that the '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 in a 58-page order handed down in U.S. district court of Rhode Island. Her order blocks the Trump administration from finalizing layoffs announced in March or issuing any further firings. HHS is directed to file a status report by July 11. The ruling applies to terminated employees in four different divisions of HHS — the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Center for Tobacco Products within the Food and Drug Administration; the Office of Head Start within the Administration for Children and Families and employees of regional offices who work on Head Start matters; and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. eliminated more than 10,000 employees in late March and consolidated 28 agencies to just 15. Combined with previous layoffs by President Donald Trump's administration, about a quarter of the agency's workforce has been slashed, according to the lawsuit. The attorneys general argued that the massive restructuring was arbitrary and outside of the scope of the agency's authority. The lawsuit also says the action decimated essential programs and pushed burdensome costs onto states. 'The intended effect … was the wholesale elimination of many HHS programs that are critical to public health and safety,' the lawsuit argued. The cuts are part of a federal 'Make America Healthy Again' directive to streamline costly agencies and reduce redundancies. Kennedy told senators at a May 14 hearing that there is 'so much chaos and disorganization' at HHS. But the restructuring has eliminated key teams that regulate food safety and drugs, as well as support a wide range of programs for tobacco, HIV prevention and maternal and infant health. Kennedy has since said that because of mistakes, 20% of people fired might be reinstated. The states who joined the lawsuit have Democratic governors, and many of the same states — plus a few others — also sued the Trump administration over $11 billion in cuts to public health funding. A preliminary injunction was granted in that case in mid-May. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
