The acting Harris County Attorney, Christian Menefee, has initiated a lawsuit against the Trump administration following the recent termination of over $11 billion in federal health funding that was previously allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This funding cut specifically affects Harris County, which is set to lose more than $19 million in public health grants essential for various health initiatives, including disease outbreak prevention and vaccination clinics.
Menefee voiced strong criticism of the administration’s actions, stating, “The Trump administration doesn’t get to override Congress just because it wants to score political points. 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.”
The lawsuit highlights that the removed funding was intended not only for pandemic-related expenses but also for future public health challenges.
Harris County had earmarked portions of this funding for the creation of vaccination clinics, a wastewater surveillance system designed to identify emerging diseases, and call centers focused on immunization and health services.
Roxanne Werner, a spokesperson for the County Attorney’s office, noted the complexity in determining the exact financial impact of the cuts, which include a mix of grants that might still be renewed and reimbursements.
One major grant affected is the Embrace HOPE initiative, which was integral to the county’s wastewater surveillance efforts. This grant faced over $4 million in funding reductions, directly affecting the jobs of four full-time and ten temporary Harris County employees.
Additionally, the administration’s actions curtailed $13 million in funds from the Immunization and Infection Disease Control Unit grants, which were vital for vaccine administration, outreach campaigns, and related health initiatives.
Other significant cuts included more than $2 million from two additional grants—the Infectious Disease Control Unit Grant and the Community Health Workers Grant.
The cuts are not only limited to Harris County but extend across Texas, where the Department of State Health Services is projected to lose upwards of $700 million in federal funding due to these cancellations.
In the city of Houston, officials confirmed that the Health Department is facing a loss of $42 million in federal funding, encompassing approximately $12 million for personnel costs.
In defense of its decision, a spokesperson from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stated that the COVID-19 pandemic is over. They asserted that the department “would waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.”
Menefee, however, contends that Texas is still dealing with public health issues, evidenced by a current measles outbreak. He emphasized that the Trump administration failed to identify any legal violations by the county in its funding allocations.
“We’re doing this not just for Harris County, but for public health departments across the country that lost funding they were promised,” Menefee explained. “These programs save lives, and it’s important that we’re in this fight together.”
The lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, along with similar legal actions from other cities, including Columbus, and Nashville.
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