Vermont has joined a coalition of attorneys general that is trying to block the Trump administration's attempt to cut many federal Health and Human Service programs.
This lawsuit challenges the authority of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to "dismantle" programs that are critical to the well being of millions of people.
Recently, Kennedy announced sweeping cuts at the Centers for Disease Control, and a number of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration programs, that resulted in the immediate termination of roughly 10,000 workers.
Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark said this lawsuit contends that only Congress has the authority to make these budget changes.
"And our system says Congress gets to establish and fund these programs, and they have — the president does not have the authority to step in and say, 'No I have a different idea. I don't like your idea.' That's not what the system has laid out for each of us," she said.
This lawsuit is one of many that Vermont and other states have filed against the Trump administration so far during his second term.
"This is part of that process, is him doing something that I would consider outlandish, it's so extremely unconstitutional, and then seeing what the courts have to say when we sue," Clark said.
The lawsuit calls for the cuts to be restored and that all of the workers be rehired.
Twenty states are part of the coalition, which includes New York, Connecticut and Maryland.
