(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) New York Attorney General Letitia James has once again started a dispute with President Donald Trump—this time taking legal action over the Trump administration’s efforts to cut funding in the healthcare sector.
Speaking at a Manhattan rally orchestrated by the National Action Network on Saturday, James announced her intent to summon Democratic attorneys general in a lawsuit against Department of Health and Human Service’s decision to pause funding to 16 grant recipients who failed to respond to federal inquiries.
The recipients did not clarify whether any of the taxpayer funds have been used to assist illegal aliens.
Despite that, James shouted, “The White House is threatening our way of life in so many ways, and I just want you to know that in the coming days we will be filing a lawsuit against [HHS].”
As reported by the New York Post, James claimed the funding freeze affected programs like Head Start program and the Meals on Wheels and the World Trade Center Healthcare Program for 9/11 first responders.
“All of these funds and more,” James stated. “We got to stand up, and that’s why Democratic attorneys general will be joining me in filing this lawsuit in the coming days.”
James had hinted at legal action in a May 1 press release, accusing the Trump administration—without evidence—of playing “politics with the lives of the American people.”
“By slashing funding to necessary health care clinics and providers, they are putting millions of Americans at risk while forcing states to clean up the mess,” James added.
She described the temporary cuts as a “cruel and shortsighted attack on essential health care” that may “have disastrous impacts in every corner of our country.”
The Trump administration notified impacted organizations on March 31 that their funding would be suspended after they failed to answer whether taxpayer funds were being used in violation of Trump’s executive order banning federal funding for illegal aliens.
James claimed the subgrantees were responsible for nearly 25% of Title X clinics.
An HHS spokesperson clarified that the grants were put on hold “pending an evaluation of possible violations of their grant terms, including based on Federal civil rights laws and the President’s Executive Order 14218, ‘Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders.”
“HHS is conducting this evaluation to ensure these entities are in full compliance with Federal law and applicable grant terms, and to ensure responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” the spokesperson added, as quoted by Time Magazine. “They did not respond to questions about the details of the ‘possible violations,’ how much money was being withheld from the affected organizations, and which organizations were being impacted by the funding freeze.”
