Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee and officials from three other states sued the Trump administration Thursday over its decision to rescind $11 billion in public health funding for state and local health departments.
The decision to pull back the funds affects about $20 million that had been allocated to Harris County through a series of grant programs set up in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the lawsuit. Harris County has used the grants to establish a wastewater surveillance program, train community health workers and offer vaccines to the community.
“Harris County was set to receive millions of dollars to support critical public health services—programs that help us detect and prevent disease outbreaks, run vaccination clinics, and keep our residents healthy,” Menefee said in a news release.
Officials from Nashville, Tenn.; Columbus, Ohio; Kansas City, Mo.; and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees joined Harris County in filing the lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C.
Attorneys general and other officials from 23 states filed a similar lawsuit over the cuts earlier this month in federal court in Rhode Island. That suit argues the Trump administration did not provide facts to support the cuts, and says they will result in “serious harm to public health.”
The Trump administration argued the funds are no longer necessary because the COVID-19 pandemic is over. But Menefee said the money is essential to combating other public health threats such as the ongoing measles outbreak, which has sickened more than 600 people in Texas.
See here and here for some background, and here for a copy of the press release. Harris County had signed on to an amicus brief in support of a previous lawsuit over NIH cuts. As the story mentions, these cuts have also cost the Houston Health Department up to $42 million in grant funding, which would be a significant blow. The stakes here are high.
I should note, for what it’s worth, that the Trumpsters have been retreating from some of the fights it had picked. They also quickly caved after the filing of a lawsuit over refugee health grants. No guarantee we’ll get that kind of outcome here, but it is increasingly the case that fighting back is a winning move. Always good to see that being practiced here.