Led by Harris County, Texas, lawsuit filed on behalf of local governments and union representing state and local government workers
OAKLAND, CA — In a case led by Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, Public Rights Project (PRP) and Democracy Forward today filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a coalition of four local governments and a union representing state and local government workers against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) unlawful termination of critical public health programs funded by Congress.
Plaintiffs include Harris County, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tenn.; Kansas City, Mo.; and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, (AFSCME), AFL-CIO.
The lawsuit seeks to restore critical federal grant programs that support essential services, including vaccinations, disease tracking, health systems modernization and public health staffing.
“Our government partners have been left scrambling to fill gaps from the loss of vital local initiatives,” said Jill Habig, founder and CEO of Public Rights Project. “These grants were more than a response to the pandemic — they were investments in the people and programs that keep our communities healthy every day.”
The grant programs were funded through pandemic-related legislation, but Congress never tied them to the official public health emergency declaration and explicitly preserved them in 2023 to support long-term health infrastructure.
“Harris County was set to receive funds to support critical public health services — programs that help us detect and prevent disease outbreaks, run vaccination clinics, and keep our residents healthy,” said Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee. “The Trump administration doesn’t get to override Congress just because it wants to score political points. This funding is the backbone of our local public health response—especially during disease outbreaks. You don’t get to break the law just because you don’t like how Congress spent the money.”
Across Harris County, Columbus, Nashville and Kansas City, CDC-administered public health funding was allocated to build sustainable infrastructure, strengthen disease response, expand workforce capacity and reduce long-standing health disparities. These investments reflect Congress’s clear intent to go beyond the COVID-19 pandemic response and ensure communities are better prepared for future public health threats.
In Harris County, for instance, outreach teams that serve over 40,000 residents annually are at risk. In Columbus, staffing for infectious disease tracing is now operating at 25% capacity while the city faces a measles outbreak in a neighboring county. In Kansas City, the public health department is unable to buy equipment for an infectious disease testing lab, despite spending significant resources on training staff and getting certification. And in Nashville, efforts to provide social and health services screening to residents, mobile vaccine and testing services to children and temporary shelter to the unhoused have been hampered. . These are just a few examples of the programs that communities have already lost or stand to lose.
HHS abruptly terminated these specific grant programs in late March, citing the end of the federal public health emergency. However, Congress never placed that condition on the funds — and HHS doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally override Congress’s decisions or cease funding that was lawfully appropriated and relied upon. Cities and counties across the country are already feeling the impact: programs have been paused, staff laid off and essential services cut back.
“The federal government's mass termination of local health programs has caused an immediate disruption in life-saving health care services,” said Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County’s Director of Law Wally Dietz. Metro Nashville joined this lawsuit because the federal government’s unlawful termination of health programs has forced layoffs of Health Department employees; termination of lab testing for infectious disease, including lab tests where the patient is waiting on a result; elimination of programs for childhood vaccination; and more. We were on the verge of providing these life-saving services to our unhoused population but that initiative is halted in its tracks”
All of the local governments party to the lawsuit are in states where governors or attorneys general haven’t acted to protect this funding. A separate lawsuit brought by 17 states temporarily blocked the cuts — but that ruling only protects those states. Residents in states outside that ruling remain vulnerable, with millions already experiencing disruptions in access to essential services.
“The Trump administration’s termination of billions of dollars in infectious disease funding is both dangerous and unconstitutional,” said Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein. “Cities cannot stay quiet on the sidelines as extremists within this administration continue to defy the constitution and recklessly endanger the health and safety of our children and the public. That’s why we’re in the arena fighting to see this funding released as Congress intended—so that health departments can do their jobs and prevent needless deaths of children and our most vulnerable from outbreaks of deadly diseases like measles.”
“At a time when measles threatens our young people and Kansas Citians in need of lifesaving cures see federal research funding slashed, I believe it's important that we as cities and people stand up for common sense and public health in the courts,” said Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. “I am proud to join other mayors and cities who will continue working to save lives in Kansas City and around our country while the federal government plays politics.”
The case, Harris County et. al v. HHS et. al., was filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia. AFSCME, which is represented by Democracy Forward, represents members across the country who face job loss and other impacts to their duties as a result of the funding cuts. Nashville and Davidson County, Kansas City and Columbus are represented by Public Rights Project and Democracy Forward.
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About Public Rights Project
As a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, Public Rights Project helps local government officials fight for civil rights. We do this by building their capacity to protect and advance civil rights, convening and connecting them on issues of civil rights, and providing legal representation to governments to help them win in court on behalf of their residents. Since our founding, we’ve built a network of over 1,300 partners, including elected officials and 227 government offices across all 50 states, and helped recover over $46 million in relief for marginalized people.
