Washington sues over RFK Jr.'s canceled health funding
Washington was among 23 states that sued the Trump administration Tuesday over the cancellation of $12 billion in federal funding to address infectious diseases, substance abuse and mental illness, including about $160 million for Washington.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of the abrupt termination last week of grants related to disease tracking, vaccination efforts and other work that officials said could cost thousands of jobs in public health departments nationwide. This pot of money makes up $11 billion of the $12 billion cut last week.
Also on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began its purge of 10,000 federal workers. The department’s regional office in Seattle will be shuttered as part of a broader downsizing effort, according to a member of Washington’s congressional delegation.
The funding cuts in Washington reportedly include $118 million for the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases program, impacting 150 full-time employees. Losing this money will hurt the state’s ability to respond to emerging outbreaks, including measles and bird flu, according to the lawsuit.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/04/01/washington-sues-over-rfk-jr-s-canceled-health-funding/