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Neronha joins coalition suing Trump administration for billions in lost public health funding

Updated at 1:02 p.m.

By

PBN Staff

-

04/01/2025

CDC Candlelight Vigil — PEOPLE GATHER for a candlelight vigil in support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in front of its headquarters in Atlanta. Attorneys general from 23 states, including Rhode Island the and the District of Columbia, are suing the Trump administration for its decision to claw back $11 billion that went to public health departments for COVID-19 efforts and addiction and mental health programs. /ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO/BEN GRAY

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island stands to lose more than $31 million from cancellations by U.S. Health and Human Services Department, R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said Tuesday after joining a coalition of state attorneys general suing the Trump administration. Attorneys general from 23 states filed the suit in federal court in Rhode Island over the

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1 COMMENT

Cynthia Driscoll 04/01/2025 At 2:24 pm

Thank goodness!!! Someone needs to stand up to this madness!!!

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PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island stands to lose more than $31 million from cancellations by U.S. Health and Human Services Department, R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said Tuesday after joining a coalition of state attorneys general suing the Trump administration. Attorneys general from 23 states filed the suit in federal court in Rhode Island over the administration’s decision to cut $11 billion in federal funds that go toward COVID-19 initiatives and various public health projects across the country. The coalition includes N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James, Colo. Attorney General Phil Weiser, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro as well as attorneys general in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The lawsuit argues the cuts are illegal, and that the federal government did not provide “rational basis” or facts to support the cuts. The attorneys general say it will result in “serious harm to public health” and put states “at greater risk for future pandemics and the spread of otherwise preventable disease and cutting off vital public health services.” The lawsuit asks the court to immediately stop the Trump administration from rescinding the money, which was allocated by Congress during the pandemic and mostly used for COVID-related efforts such as testing and vaccination. The money also went to addiction and mental health programs. Neronha said if the funding is not restored, important state public health programs and initiatives will have to be dissolved or disbanded, including those that focus on childhood vaccination and immunization, health disparities among high-risk and underserved populations, and laboratory testing capacity. “This massive and egregiously irresponsible cut of public health funding should put everyone on high alert to the depths this Administration is willing to go,” Neronha said. “First and foremost, Americans expect their government to protect them from harm. By eliminating billions in critical funding for essential public health initiatives, the Administration is effectively telling the American people to fend for themselves.” The U.S. Health and Human Services Department, which began serving employees dismissal notices on Tuesday in what’s expected to total 10,000 layoffs, said it does not comment on ongoing litigation. “Investments in public health make our communities healthier and safer, and they save lives,” said R.I. Department of Health Director Dr. Health Jerry Larkin. “These grants support critical work to prevent deadly infectious diseases, ensure people are vaccinated, prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness, modernize many of our core laboratory functions, Medical Examiner’s Office, and public health data systems, amongst other work. These are public health services that Rhode Islanders paid for and deserve.” HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon pointed to the agency's statement from last week, when the decision to claw back the money was announced. The HHS said then that it “will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.” Local and state public health departments are still assessing the impact of the loss of funds, though the lawsuit points to the claw back putting hundreds of jobs at risk and weakening efforts to stem infectious diseases like flu and measles. Health officials in North Carolina, which joined the lawsuit, estimate the state could lose $230 million, harming dozens of local health departments, hospital systems and universities, and rural health centers. At least 80 government jobs and dozens of contractors would be affected, according to state health officials. “There are legal ways to improve how tax dollars are used, but this wasn’t one of them,” North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said. “Immediately halting critical health care programs across the state without legal authority isn’t just wrong — it puts lives at risk.” Already, more than two dozen COVID-related research grants funded by the National Institutes of Health have been cancelled. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from March shows that COVID-19 killed 411 people each week on average, even though the federal public health emergency has ended. (UPDATE: Comment from R.I. Department of Health added in 9th paragraph) Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.