Columbus sues Trump administration over cuts to disease funding amid measles outbreaks
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The City of Columbus has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its cuts to infectious disease funding during a rise in measles outbreaks across the country, including in Ohio.
City Attorney Zach Klein said Columbus Public Health has already had to terminate 11 infectious disease workers due to cuts in the funding, leaving only 11 employees left.
'The Trump administration's termination of billions of dollars in infectious disease funding is both dangerous and unconstitutional,' Klein said in a statement. 'The City cannot stay quiet on the sidelines as extremists within this administration continue to defy the Constitution and recklessly endanger the health and safety of our children and the public.'
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The city claims that the funding cuts are unconstitutional because the money was already approved by Congress.
The city is asking for a judge to order the Trump administration to reinstate the grant programs and congressionally appropriated funding.
Kansas City and Nashville also joined the lawsuit, along with Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston.
Dkt.-1-ComplaintDownload
Several states also previously sued the administration over the funding cuts.
U.S. Health and Human Services Department spokesperson Andrew Nixon told the Associated Press earlier this month that it doesn't comment on pending litigation, but said the HHS 'will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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