A federal judge extended a temporary restraining order May 16 to prevent the White House from terminating $11.4 billion in funding to state and local health departments, The Hill reported May 16.
U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy of the District of Rhode Island first issued the order in April, pausing the Trump administration’s elimination of pandemic-era funding to 23 states and Washington, D.C. The funds were originally provided under COVID-19 relief legislation, but were allowed to be used for other priorities.
The attorneys general argued that HHS unlawfully ended the grants without analyzing the consequences of its termination, The Hill reported.
Two other federal health updates:
1. In a May 16 emergency appeal, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to lift a district court order that temporarily blocked mass layoffs across federal agencies, Politico reported May 16.
HHS employees began receiving dismissal notices on April 1 as part of a broader effort to restructure HHS and lay off 10,000 full-time employees. Since then, some layoffs have been reversed, with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggesting that around 20% of those laid off may have their roles reinstated.
The federal judge’s May 9 temporary block halted about 40 ongoing reductions in force across 17 agencies, Solicitor General John Sauer argued in the appeal.
2. On May 16, a federal appeals court lifted a block on President Trump’s executive order to remove collective bargaining rights from federal workers at several agencies, The Washington Post reported May 17.
The March 27 executive order eliminated collective bargaining and organizing rights for workers at the FDA, CDC and other federal agencies. It was initially blocked in April as part of a lawsuit from the National Treasury Employees Union, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the union did not show it would face “irreparable harm” if the order was implemented during the lawsuit.
The Trump administration agreed to not remove federal collective bargaining agreements until the litigation concludes, according to the Post.
