The city of Columbus filed suit in federal court challenging the Trump administration cuts to infectious disease programs.
Those cuts resulted in Columbus Public Health laying off 11 infectious disease workers about a month ago, as measles cases have been reported across Ohio.
In March, the Trump administration eliminated $11.4 billion in grants for infectious disease funding.
“The Trump administration’s termination of billions of dollars in infectious disease funding is both dangerous and unconstitutional,” Columbus City Attorney Zach 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," Klein said "That’s why we’re in the arena fighting to see this funding released as congress intended—so that health departments can do their jobs and prevent needless deaths of children and our most vulnerable from outbreaks of deadly diseases like measles.”
Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said in a statement: "These federal cuts have very real – potentially lethal – consequences in our city. We are taking action to sustain the equitable access to healthcare and disease prevention measures that our residents need and deserve.”
Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts said that without the 11 staff funded by the grant, CPH no longer has the staff to respond to infectious disease outbreaks in vulnerable locations like schools and long-term care facilities.
The suit claims the Trump administration violates the U.S. Constitution by terminating funds that Congress approved.
It asked the court to declare the grant termination unlawful and force the Trump administration to reinstate the funding.
Columbus joins Nashville, Kansas City, Missouri, Harris County, Texas, which is home to Houston, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in the suit. The complaint was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
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