{"id":30900,"date":"2025-07-01T20:21:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T20:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=30900"},"modified":"2025-07-01T20:25:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T20:25:23","slug":"judge-halts-mass-firings-and-organizational-changes-at-h-h-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=30900","title":{"rendered":"Judge Halts Mass Firings and Organizational Changes at H.H.S."},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\">In an order on Tuesday, a judge found the Trump administration\u2019s plans to drastically change the structure and mission of the Department of Health and Human Services was probably unlawful.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A federal judge on<strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\"> <\/strong>Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with a dramatic reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services, finding that the mass firings and organizational changes were probably unlawful.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In an opinion accompanying the order, Judge Melissa R. DuBose of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island said that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s efforts to wipe out entire programs and reorient the agency\u2019s priorities and work far exceeded his authority.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe executive branch does not have the authority to order, organize or implement wholesale changes to the structure and function of the agencies created by Congress,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A coalition of 19 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia had banded together in a lawsuit led by Letitia James, the New York attorney general, seeking to reverse Mr. Kennedy\u2019s plan to cut <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/01\/us\/politics\/trump-federal-layoffs-health-food.html\" title>10,000 federal health workers<\/a> after mass layoffs began in April. The lawsuit also challenged his reorganization of the sprawling department, which included <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/press-room\/hhs-restructuring-doge.html\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">paring down 28 federal divisions to 15<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The layoffs and restructuring effectively eliminated programs that assisted local officials with a variety of public health issues ranging from testing for sexually transmitted diseases to anti-smoking campaigns to lead-poisoning outbreaks, the states contended, resulting in the loss of critical services almost overnight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.rid.59507\/gov.uscourts.rid.59507.73.0.pdf\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">In her order<\/a>, Judge DuBose, an appointee of President Joseph R. Biden Jr., laid out a withering civics lesson, offering the government \u201ca brief reminder about the bedrock doctrine of separation of powers that governs the relationship between the United States.\u201d She added that the changes at the agency would have knock-on effects for the entire country, and that the Constitution expressly prevented someone in Mr. Kennedy\u2019s position from attempting such a \u201dconcentration of power in one part of the government.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-kbghgg\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171quhb\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F07%2F01%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fjudge-ruling-health-department-layoffs.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F07%2F01%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fjudge-ruling-health-department-layoffs.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F07%2F01%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fjudge-ruling-health-department-layoffs.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F07%2F01%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fjudge-ruling-health-department-layoffs.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In an order on Tuesday, a judge found the Trump administration\u2019s plans to drastically change the structure and mission of the Department of Health and Human Services was probably unlawful.A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with a dramatic reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services, finding that the mass firings and organizational changes were probably unlawful.In an opinion accompanying the order, Judge Melissa R. DuBose of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island said that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s efforts to wipe out entire programs and reorient the agency\u2019s priorities and work far exceeded his authority.\u201cThe executive branch does not have the authority to order, organize or implement wholesale changes to the structure and function of the agencies created by Congress,\u201d she wrote.A coalition of 19 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia had banded together in a lawsuit led by Letitia James, the New York attorney general, seeking to reverse Mr. Kennedy\u2019s plan to cut 10,000 federal health workers after mass layoffs began in April. The lawsuit also challenged his reorganization of the sprawling department, which included paring down 28 federal divisions to 15.The layoffs and restructuring effectively eliminated programs that assisted local officials with a variety of public health issues ranging from testing for sexually transmitted diseases to anti-smoking campaigns to lead-poisoning outbreaks, the states contended, resulting in the loss of critical services almost overnight.In her order, Judge DuBose, an appointee of President Joseph R. Biden Jr., laid out a withering civics lesson, offering the government \u201ca brief reminder about the bedrock doctrine of separation of powers that governs the relationship between the United States.\u201d She added that the changes at the agency would have knock-on effects for the entire country, and that the Constitution expressly prevented someone in Mr. Kennedy\u2019s position from attempting such a \u201dconcentration of power in one part of the government.\u201dWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30902,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30900"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30903,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30900\/revisions\/30903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}