Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is signing on to a multi-state lawsuit against the Trump administration over cuts to health departments around the country by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The coalition of local leaders from 23 states is comprised mostly of Democratic attorneys general from across the country, however Beshear signed on as Kentucky’s governor. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, a Republican, is not attached to the lawsuit.
News of the lawsuit comes after it was reported last week that the Department of Government Efficiency was cutting nearly half a billion dollars in grant funding from Kentucky and Indiana Health Departments, $150 million of that funding was slated to go toward the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The cuts were announced on March 24, and health officials warn they could seriously impact a variety of local health programs, including veterans programs, addiction treatment, 988 hotline staffing and child vaccine programs.
Governor Andy Beshear vowed Thursday to “challenge” the cuts, while a spokesperson for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services warned that the cuts “will affect Kentuckians.”
The new lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges that the various cuts are unlawful and jeopardize public health for millions of people, along with threatening the jobs of thousands of health care workers in the United States.
The attorneys general and governors signing on to the lawsuit are asking a Rhode Island judge to immediately stop the Trump Administration’s move to rescind the billions of dollars in grant funding allocated to various health departments around the country, most of which were approved during the COVID-19 pandemic. The coalition is being led by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Source: WAVE
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