The plaintiffs had sought a temporary restraining order, which Ms. Chutkan denied due to a lack of “clear evidence of imminent, irreparable harm,” at this stage.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez led the lawsuit, which consisted of attorneys general from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. The lawsuit aimed to challenge “the unlawful delegation of executive power to Elon Musk,” according to a Feb. 13 news release.
“Defendants’ actions threaten the financial and operational stability of the states by disrupting billions of dollars in federal funding essential for law enforcement, healthcare, education, and other critical services,” the news release said. “State agencies depend on federal funds and cooperative agreements, and the termination of these partnerships will result in severe budget shortfalls, staffing crises, and the potential loss of key programs.”
The lawsuit, which is one of several legal filings against DOGE, also claimed that Mr. Musk and DOGE have accessed sensitive data, “unraveled” federal agencies and caused disruption for Americans, federal employees and state and local governments.
Three more federal health updates:
1. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Feb. 18 to expand access to in vitro fertilization and lower costs for such treatments. The order directs agencies to develop policy recommendations to protect access to IVF and “aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments,” a White House fact sheet said. Under the order, federal agencies will also address any current policies that increase the costs of IVF treatments, including those that require legislation.
The cost of IVF treatments range from $12,000 to $25,000 per cycle, with patients requiring an average of 2.5 cycles to become pregnant, according to HHS data referenced in the White House fact sheet. The treatments are typically not fully covered by insurance. Only 15 states have IVF coverage mandates, and although they do not apply to self-insured employers, about a quarter report fertility treatment coverage for their employees.
President Trump promised to mandate that government and private payers cover all costs associated with IVF treatments on the campaign trail. The executive order did not specify how the treatments would be made more affordable.
2. As part of its initial tasks, the Make America Healthy Again Commission will probe the potential over-utilization of certain medications, food ingredients and chemicals, with a focus on their potential links to chronic disease rates in children. As it relates to medications, the commission will “assess the prevalence and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants and weight-loss drugs,” according to the White House.
The MAHA commission was created by a Feb. 13 executive order and is run by HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
3. HHS saw further job cuts Feb. 15 across agencies including the CDC, FDA and National Institutes of Health. The layoffs included around 1,000 NIH terminations and came after the Trump administration ordered the elimination of “nearly all” 5,200 HHS probationary employees.
