Judge Denies Trump Admin Attempt to Pause Medicaid Case Amid Shutdown

[Thiệu Ngô]

A district court judge on Wednesday denied the Trump administration's request to halt a lawsuit over its proposed Medicaid cuts to Planned Parenthood during the current shutdown of the federal government.

By Lauren Giella

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sought a motion for a stay in the proceedings because the Appropriations Act funding the Department of Justice and the majority of other executive agencies lapsed when the government shut down on September 30.

The administration said that without the appropriations, DOJ attorneys and other federal government employees are prohibited from working, even on a voluntary basis, except in limited circumstances. They wanted a stay of proceedings until DOJ attorneys are "permitted to resume their usual civil litigation functions."

In the order, Judge Indira Talwani said, "the lapse in appropriations does not justify a stay of these proceedings."

She concluded that the plaintiffs' interest in continuing with this case "outweighs defendants' interest in a stay where counsel for defendants may continue litigating during the lapse in funding pursuant to a court order."

Back in July, Talwani ruled that the Trump administration must reimburse Planned Parenthood clinics for services funded by Medicaid. That ruling was overturned by a U.S. court of appeals in September.

In July, 23 states sued the federal government in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts over the Trump Administration's budget bill that excluded Planned Parenthood and other health centers from receiving federal Medicaid funds, claiming the move is an unconstitutional punishment for the clinics' advocacy for reproductive choice.

"By illegally targeting Planned Parenthood, this provision of the budget bill would threaten millions of Americans' access to essential health care like cancer screenings and pregnancy care," said Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell in a statement at the time of the filing. "I will continue to champion reproductive justice and fight back against actions that harm the health and well-being of our residents."

The plaintiffs in this case are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

The states say they are bringing action to "avoid being compelled to participate in Congress's unconstitutional conduct" and note that this is not about abortion funding, but rather the denial of access to health centers that provide essential, lifesaving care, "all in the name of retribution" for Planned Parenthood's political advocacy.

"The result is devastating consequences for those who will be denied care in the plaintiff states, as well as negative impacts to the plaintiff states themselves," the claim states.