Municipalities from Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, and Missouri have united with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) to file a lawsuit challenging budget cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The lawsuit was filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia under the case name Harris County et al. v. Kennedy et al. The municipal plaintiffs include Harris County, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee; and Kansas City, Missouri. These entities, along with AFSCME, seek to counteract funding reductions that they claim threaten pandemic-prevention programs crucial for combating infectious diseases.
AFSCME claims the cuts threaten its members’ work in public health. AFSCME President Lee Saunders stated, “The pandemic exposed just how urgently we need strong public health systems… Congress stepped up — delivering crucial funding to local health departments… But now, this administration is sidestepping the law and withholding taxpayer dollars meant to protect our communities… AFSCME members are on the front lines, vaccinating, educating and saving lives every single day.” Saunders emphasizes the lawsuit’s importance in maintaining essential funding for local health services.
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee noted, “Harris County was set to receive funds to support critical public health services,” and criticized the administration for attempting to “override Congress.”
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein added, “The Trump administration’s termination of billions of dollars in infectious disease funding is both dangerous and unconstitutional.”
Wally Dietz, Director of Law for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville, discussed the immediate impacts of these funding changes: “The federal government’s mass termination of local health programs has caused an immediate disruption in life-saving health care services.”
The lawsuit arises from the March 24, 2025, decision by the Trump administration, led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to cut over $11 billion in grants intended for pandemic-prevention efforts. Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward, elaborated on the hazardous implications, stating, “Cancelling programs that seek to prevent the spread of infectious diseases – in the middle of active pandemics – is not just unconstitutional, it is unconscionable.”
Public Rights Project’s founder and CEO, Jill Habig, expressed concern over the loss of vital health initiatives: “Our government partners have been left scrambling to fill gaps from the loss of vital local initiatives.”
This legal challenge highlights the municipal and union-led effort to preserve vital health services amidst policy shifts they view as unconstitutional and hazardous to public health.
