Following a slew of federal attacks on public health, Harris County sued the Trump administration Thursday for slashing more than $11 billion in funding previously approved by Congress. The county was expected to receive millions of dollars to help track disease outbreaks and run vaccination clinics, according to a press release from Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee.
Filed alongside cities like Columbus and Nashville, the lawsuit said that about $20 million was allocated to Harris County through grants made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal health officials pulled the funding, claiming the pandemic was “over,” but Harris County used the grants toward long-term initiatives such as community health workers and vaccination clinics — which are now defunded, according to the release.
Menefee emphasized that the funding helped manage ongoing public health threats such as measles, which has infected 624 and killed two people in Texas as of April 25. In Dallas County, several grants were affected by federal cuts, causing layoffs and the cancellation of 50 vaccination events, The Barbed Wire reported. In April, the Houston Health Department told the Houston Chronicle it could lose $42 million in funding due to the cuts.
“The Trump administration doesn’t get to override Congress just because it wants to score political points,” Menefee said. “This funding is the backbone of our local public health response—especially during disease outbreaks. You don’t get to break the law just because you don’t like how Congress spent the money.”
Menefee said the Trump administration suddenly slashed the funds and “did not identify a single legal violation by Harris County or any other grantee.”
“They didn’t follow the law. They didn’t follow their own rules,” Menefee said. “And they’re threatening the health of our most vulnerable residents in the process. That’s why we’re suing.”
This is the second time Harris County has sued the Trump administration this year. Menefee previously filed a lawsuit over frozen health care funding for refugees, which forced the government to reverse its decision this month.
“We’re doing this not just for Harris County, but for public health departments across the country that lost funding they were promised,” Menefee said. “These programs save lives, and it’s important that we’re in this fight together.”
