A coalition of 20 attorneys general is asking a federal court to block mass firings and the consolidation of multiple divisions at the Department Health and Human Services.

Filed Monday, the lawsuit stems from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s March 27 order to merge his departments’ 28 agencies into 15 and to reduce HHS staff by 25%. Kennedy said the reductions were intended to make the agency more efficient and effective as it strives to improve the nation’s health.

The attorneys general behind the lawsuit argue that Kennedy's directive violates the Constitution’s appropriations clause, which establishes congressional control of federal spending, and the separation-of-powers doctrine, which divides government responsibilities between Congress, the president and the courts. 

“No administration has the right to unilaterally destroy the programs that millions of Americans rely on,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement Monday. 

The lawsuit — the 17th filed by nearly two dozen Democratic attorneys general against the Trump administration since President Donald Trump returned to office — names 10 defendants, including Kennedy, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Martin Makary and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acting Director Susan Monarez, among others, along with the agencies they represent. 

Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit.

Filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, the lawsuit asks the court to halt the mass firings, reverse the consolidation of HHS agencies and restore impacted health services to millions of Americans.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia filed the complaint.