23 States Sue Trump Administration Over $11B In Health Funding Cuts
AP reports that the attorneys general involved in the lawsuit say the funding cuts will result in “serious harm to public health.” In related news about the Trump administration and DOGE: rural internet access, a kidney donor held by ICE, and more.
AP:
States Sue Trump Administration For Rescinding Billions In Health Funding
A coalition of states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its decision to cut $11 billion in federal funds that go toward COVID-19 initiatives and various public health projects across the country. Attorneys general and other officials from 23 states sued in federal court in Rhode Island. They include New York Attorney General Letitia James and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, as well as Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the District of Columbia. The lawsuit argues the cuts are illegal, and that the federal government did not provide “rational basis” or facts to support the cuts. (Bose and Whitehurst, 4/1)
More about the Trump administration and DOGE —
The Washington Post:
Rural Internet Program On Hold As Musk’s Satellites Get New Consideration
Chris Disher, the co-owner of a rural internet provider in Louisiana, is ready to start digging to get fast and reliable internet to some of the estimated 450,000 households and small businesses in the state that don’t have it. His company, Cajun Broadband, was awarded $33 million in January under a Biden administration plan to do just that. But the money isn’t flowing while the Trump administration revamps the program and opens it up more to satellite internet, including Elon Musk’s Starlink. Now Disher is worried that a long-promised push for rural access will be upended, leaving Louisianans desperate for internet waiting. (Mark, 4/1)
The Hill:
Kidney Donor Detained By ICE Before Life-Saving Transplant Can Take Place
Illinois activists, community members and elected officials are calling on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release a detainee who was preparing to make an organ donation to save his brother’s life. A vigil was held Monday evening for José Gregorio, a 43-year-old from Venezuela, who has been held in an immigration detention center for nearly a month. Gregorio was preparing to donate a kidney to his brother, José Alfredo Pacheco, 37, who has end-stage renal disease. Pacheco said his brother is his lifeline to surviving and the only family member he has here to help him. (Spinelli and Ong, 4/1)
Stat:
Addiction Treatment Advocates Turn To An Unlikely Ally: DOGE
A coalition of advocacy groups including a leading addiction medicine society and a center-right think tank is pressing the Trump administration with an unlikely request: Use the U.S. DOGE Service to make methadone more widely available. (Facher, 4/2)
Axios:
Elon Musk And DOGE Staff Would Face Drug Tests Under Democrat's Bill
A House Democrat is introducing long-shot legislation that would force billionaire Trump lieutenant Elon Musk and his staffers at DOGE to undergo routine drug testing, Axios has learned. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) cited a Wall Street Journal report from 2024 that alleged Musk has used illegal drugs including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms and ketamine as the impetus for her bill. (Solender, 4/1)
