LANSING—Late yesterday afternoon, Judge Mary S. McElroy in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) blocking Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from abruptly and illegally terminating nearly $11 billion in critical public health grants nationwide, including $379.3 million in grant funding awarded and owed to the State of Michigan. The TRO only protects grants cut from the 23 plaintiff states and the District of Columbia.

“President Trump and Secretary Kennedy have pledged to ‘Make America Healthy Again,’ while cutting critical support for infectious disease control, substance abuse treatment, vaccination clinics, mental health services, and many more treatments that Americans rely upon for their everyday health and well-being,” said Nessel. “These cuts were not just ill-timed and illegal, they are antithetical to the very mission of the Department of Health and Human Services. I am grateful for the swift decision by Judge McElroy, which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on Michiganders’ lives.” 

In addition to Michigan, the plaintiff states who filed suit on Tuesday April 1, 2025, and are protected by this TRO include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, and Maryland. The Governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania joined the suit on behalf of their states.