"A group of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Monday to challenge the Trump administration's decision to gut the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by firing 10,000 of its employees and shuttering entire agencies within the department.
Attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Providence, Rhode Island, said the job cuts and agency consolidations U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy announced in late March unconstitutionally stripped the department of the resources necessary to do its job.
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 lawsuit said.
As part of the restructuring plan, HHS said it was also collapsing 28 divisions into 15 and closing half of its 10 regional offices."
Nate Raymond reports for Reuters May 5, 2025.
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