Several states, including Kentucky, are suing President Donald Trump’s administration to challenge its cancellation of $11 billion in federal grants allocated to the states during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lawsuit — which includes 23 states led by Democratic governors and the District of Columbia — was filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James Tuesday following recent decisions by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to cut a substantial amount of funding that supports states’ efforts to address public and mental health initiatives. Funding was initially approved by Congress at the height of the pandemic with $11.4 billion in funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for pandemic preparedness, overdose prevention, and community health programs and $1 billion from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for addiction treatment, suicide prevention, and crisis intervention programs.
During his most recent Team Kentucky update Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear said he would challenge the cancellations after grants for Kentucky and Indiana totaling nearly $500 million were targeted by Department of Government Efficiency.
“It’s an unlawful cancellation, and we’ll challenge it,” he said. “These are contracts that we have. The contracts can only be terminated for cause, which means somebody did something wrong, and they’re trying to define cause as: ‘The pandemic’s over.’ That’s not a legal argument, and if we have to go to court, we will.”
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