Maine has joined 18 other states and Washington, D.C., in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s staffing and program cuts in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Cuts to the federal DHHS under the direction of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have destroyed life-saving programs and left states to pick up the bill for mounting health crises, the lawsuit says.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Melissa Majchrzak/Associated Press

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Rhode Island on Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced. In addition to James and Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, the attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia signed onto the complaint.

Kennedy restructured the agency in March, eliminating more than 10,000 employees and collapsing 28 agencies under the sprawling HHS umbrella into 15, the attorneys general said. An additional 10,000 employees had already been let go by President Donald Trump’s administration, according to the lawsuit, and combined the cuts stripped 25% of the HHS workforce.

“In its first three months, Secretary Kennedy and this administration deprived HHS of the resources necessary to do its job,” the attorneys general wrote.

Kennedy has said he is seeking to streamline the nation’s public health agencies and reduce redundant staffing. The cuts were made as part of a directive the administration has dubbed, “Make America Healthy Again.”

The cuts have resulted in laboratories having limited testing for some infectious diseases, the federal government not tracking cancer risks among U.S. firefighters, early childhood learning programs left unsure of future funds, and programs aimed at monitoring cancer and maternal health closing, the attorneys general say. Cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also have hampered states’ ability to respond to one of the largest measles outbreaks in recent years, the lawsuit says.

The restructuring eliminated the entire team of people who maintain the federal poverty guidelines used by states to determine whether residents are eligible for Medicaid, nutrition assistance and other programs. A tobacco prevention agency was gutted. Staff losses also were significant at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The attorneys general want a judge to reverse the cuts because they say the administration can’t unilaterally eliminate programs and funding that have been created by Congress.

The Trump administration is already facing other legal challenges over cuts to public health agencies and research organizations. A coalition of 23 states, including Maine, filed a federal lawsuit in Rhode Island last month over the administration’s decision to cut $11 billion in federal funds for COVID-19 initiatives and various public health projects across the country.

This report contains material from The Associated Press.