Measles, bird flu, addiction—NJ says RFK Jr.s’ $350M cuts put lives at risk

⚫️ NJ joins 23 states and D.C. in suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

⚫️ State officials say funding cuts put public health at risk

⚫️ Legal challenge say Trump administration lacks authority to make cuts

New Jersey's attorney general is filing another lawsuit against the Trump administration, this time over $350 million in federal funding.

New Jersey is joining 23 states and D.C. to challenge last week's decision by the Department of Health and Human Services to claw back more than $11 billion in COVID-related funding from the states.

In a related move, the federal Department of Education also said it's pulling back $85 million in pandemic-related grants to 20 school districts in New Jersey.

MORE: These 20 districts in NJ losing federal funding

State Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Tuesday that the HHS funding cuts would impact programs addressing infectious diseases, mental health and addiction services, and access to vaccinations.

The states say the funding cuts violate federal law because the appropriations had been approved by Congress.

“Instead of looking out for our health, the Trump Administration is putting us in harm’s way," Platkin said in a written statement.

"Cutting hundreds of millions of dollars isn’t just illegal; it’s also reckless. These damaging cuts will jeopardize services for people experiencing a mental health crisis or struggling with addiction, deprive patients at community health centers of the care they need, and make us more vulnerable to the spread of deadly infectious diseases.”

Hundreds of employees wait in line wrapped around the outside of the Health and Human Services headquarters building, Tuesday morning, April 1, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Amanda Seitz)

Slashing jobs at health agencies

Also on Tuesday, employees at HHS began receiving layoff notices days after President Donald Trump stripped many federal workers of their union rights.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a plan last week to remake the department, which, through its agencies, is responsible for tracking health trends and disease outbreaks, conducting and funding medical research, and monitoring the safety of food and medicine, as well as for administering health insurance programs for nearly half of the country.

The plan would consolidate agencies that oversee billions of dollars for addiction services and community health centers under a new office called the Administration for a Healthy America.

The layoffs are expected to shrink HHS to 62,000 positions, lopping off nearly a quarter of its staff — 10,000 jobs through layoffs and another 10,000 workers who took early retirement and voluntary separation offers.

Layoffs by the numbers

The department on Thursday provided a breakdown of some of the cuts.

🔴 3,500 jobs at the Food and Drug Administration, which inspects and sets safety standards for medications, medical devices and foods.

🔴 2,400 jobs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which monitors for infectious disease outbreaks and works with public health agencies nationwide.

🔴 1,200 jobs at the NIH.

🔴 300 jobs at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicare and Medicaid.