Gongwer News Service
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Wednesday announced the filing of a motion for preliminary injunction aimed at halting further cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The request is part of a broader 20-state lawsuit challenging HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s mass layoffs and agency restructuring. Nessel has joined or launched several suits against the current administration, a move Democrats have called necessary, and Republicans have dismissed as futile.
If granted, the injunction would temporarily stop the changes while the lawsuit plays out in court. To succeed, the states must convince a judge the cuts would cause irreparable harm to U.S. residents.
The filing argues that Kennedy’s actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act by bypassing required federal processes and dismantling services that Congress has mandated, making them unconstitutional.
The filing notes the layoffs affected 10,000 HHS employees. The cuts included staff responsible for calculating federal poverty guidelines, certifying personal protective equipment and managing Head Start grant programs.
Attached to the motion is a 21-page declaration from Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel, who warned the cuts would cripple disease surveillance, disrupt maternal health and HIV prevention programs, and defund tobacco cessation efforts.
In the declaration, Hertel said the state will lose critical testing, data and technical support, which could delay outbreak responses and increase preventable illnesses.
Nessel has had success with recent injunctions, including one that reinstated probationary federal employees removed under the same directive last month. On Tuesday, she joined 20 attorneys general in another lawsuit effort against the Trump Administration for making billions in funding conditional to immigration enforcement demands.
“Public health threats spread quickly, making the Trump Administration’s illegal action to shut down HHS regional offices and divisions and cut off communication with state health officials especially dangerous,” Nessel said in a press release Wednesday. “These closures strip away vital resources that protect communities from outbreaks and crises.”
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