The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced last week its intention to cancel a disaster relief program that had promised more than $80 million to build a levee in flood-prone Grays Harbor County.

Without the federal money, local officials told The Daily World that the project is dead in the water.

“And just like that … years of due diligence and hard work to move the North Shore Levee flood protection projects forward — now down the drain,” Grays Harbor County Commissioner Vickie Raines said. “This is devastating to Grays Harbor County.”

The cities of Aberdeen and Hoquiam – which lie at the confluence of multiple rivers into Grays Harbor – have suffered annual floods in recent years and faced more than a dozen floods since the 1960s that qualified as federal disasters, Cascade PBS previously reported. Canceling the federal grant would wipe out close to half of the more than $180 million needed for a long-proposed system of levees to protect downtown areas along the waterfront.

FEMA officials last week called the grant program “wasteful and ineffective,” but did not provide evidence. A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled on Friday that the move violated an earlier injunction against the Trump administration’s attempts to freeze funds already allocated by Congress.

Local leaders in the economically struggling former logging towns have spent years bolstering support for the levee, which they see as the only way to protect against increasingly dangerous storms and give the communities a chance at rebounding. Punishing flood insurance premiums and strict building codes are further choking what scant investment the towns attract, as Cascade PBS detailed in a 2023 investigation.

Hoquiam city administrator Brian Shay told Cascade PBS that he has been reaching out to federal officials and senators and remains hopeful that FEMA will conduct a case-by-case review and see the value of the project, which was on the verge of beginning construction. Awarded the funds four years ago, the region has spent millions and just recently achieved a key federal environmental review.

“West Levy was ready to go to bid on construction this fall, it’s that close,” Shay said. “We’re hoping there’s a path forward.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced last week its intention to cancel a disaster relief program that had promised more than $80 million to build a levee in flood-prone Grays Harbor County.

Without the federal money, local officials told The Daily World that the project is dead in the water.

“And just like that … years of due diligence and hard work to move the North Shore Levee flood protection projects forward — now down the drain,” Grays Harbor County Commissioner Vickie Raines said. “This is devastating to Grays Harbor County.”

The cities of Aberdeen and Hoquiam – which lie at the confluence of multiple rivers into Grays Harbor – have suffered annual floods in recent years and faced more than a dozen floods since the 1960s that qualified as federal disasters, Cascade PBS previously reported. Canceling the federal grant would wipe out close to half of the more than $180 million needed for a long-proposed system of levees to protect downtown areas along the waterfront.

FEMA officials last week called the grant program “wasteful and ineffective,” but did not provide evidence. A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled on Friday that the move violated an earlier injunction against the Trump administration’s attempts to freeze funds already allocated by Congress.

Local leaders in the economically struggling former logging towns have spent years bolstering support for the levee, which they see as the only way to protect against increasingly dangerous storms and give the communities a chance at rebounding. Punishing flood insurance premiums and strict building codes are further choking what scant investment the towns attract, as Cascade PBS detailed in a 2023 investigation.

Hoquiam city administrator Brian Shay told Cascade PBS that he has been reaching out to federal officials and senators and remains hopeful that FEMA will conduct a case-by-case review and see the value of the project, which was on the verge of beginning construction. Awarded the funds four years ago, the region has spent millions and just recently achieved a key federal environmental review.

“West Levy was ready to go to bid on construction this fall, it’s that close,” Shay said. “We’re hoping there’s a path forward.”

Arts and cultural organizations across Washington learned this week that the National Endowment for the Humanities is cancelling or rescinding upward of $10 million in cultural funding the state was set to receive.

The cuts are part of a broader clawback of federal humanities funding by the Trump Administration and its DOGE initiative. The money was appropriated by Congress and awarded in all 50 states.

The National Endowment for the Humanities is a federal agency that supports state and local museums, historic sites, universities, teachers, libraries, documentary filmmakers and local humanities programming.

Local and state organizations began receiving letters late Wednesday night from the federal agency stating that: “Your grant no longer effectuates the agency’s needs and priorities and conditions of the Grant Agreement and is subject to termination. … Your grant’s immediate termination is necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities.”

Humanities Washington is the state humanities council. It uses federal funding to run children’s reading programs in libraries and schools, adult education, the Washington State Poet Laureate program, history and culture speaker series, humanities fellowships and other programming in cities and towns across the state. It also disburses grants for initiatives like cultural history projects about Washington.

“The attack on the NEH is an attack on community-minded people and cultural organizations across the state,” said Julie Ziegler, executive director of Humanities Washington in a news release. "People working to educate themselves and their children, wanting to better understand others in their communities, and looking to live fuller, happier lives will all be affected. The humanities provide all of these things and more.”

Humanities Washington is set to lose $6 million from the cancelled grants. According to Inspire Washington, a statewide cultural advocacy organization, the National Endowment for the Humanities has provided $14 million for cultural programming in the state over the past five years.

Arts and cultural organizations across Washington learned this week that the National Endowment for the Humanities is cancelling or rescinding upward of $10 million in cultural funding the state was set to receive.

The cuts are part of a broader clawback of federal humanities funding by the Trump Administration and its DOGE initiative. The money was appropriated by Congress and awarded in all 50 states.

The National Endowment for the Humanities is a federal agency that supports state and local museums, historic sites, universities, teachers, libraries, documentary filmmakers and local humanities programming.

Local and state organizations began receiving letters late Wednesday night from the federal agency stating that: “Your grant no longer effectuates the agency’s needs and priorities and conditions of the Grant Agreement and is subject to termination. … Your grant’s immediate termination is necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities.”

Humanities Washington is the state humanities council. It uses federal funding to run children’s reading programs in libraries and schools, adult education, the Washington State Poet Laureate program, history and culture speaker series, humanities fellowships and other programming in cities and towns across the state. It also disburses grants for initiatives like cultural history projects about Washington.

“The attack on the NEH is an attack on community-minded people and cultural organizations across the state,” said Julie Ziegler, executive director of Humanities Washington in a news release. "People working to educate themselves and their children, wanting to better understand others in their communities, and looking to live fuller, happier lives will all be affected. The humanities provide all of these things and more.”

Humanities Washington is set to lose $6 million from the cancelled grants. According to Inspire Washington, a statewide cultural advocacy organization, the National Endowment for the Humanities has provided $14 million for cultural programming in the state over the past five years.

This article originally appeared in the Washington State Standard.

Washington is suing a property management software company and a handful of landlords over allegations they colluded to inflate rents through a price-fixing scheme, Attorney General Nick Brown announced Thursday.

The state says RealPage has three products to help landlords calculate rental prices and manage occupancy. The company uses nonpublic information that landlords agree to share to create an algorithm that pushes them to raise rents, according to the lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court.

Instead of competing, the landlords all raise their prices together based on RealPage’s recommendations, according to the complaint. So instead of the market helping determine rents, it’s software.

RealPage also tells landlords to nix discounts they give to attract tenants, the lawsuit alleges. And it reportedly recommends keeping units vacant to keep rents up, instead of leasing them for a lower price.

In a press conference Thursday, Brown said property managers used the Texas-based RealPage software to price an estimated 800,000 leases in Washington between 2017 and 2024. About a third of Washington residents are renters, according to the lawsuit.

In 2023, more than half of Washington’s renters paid more than 30% of their income toward rent, according to a state report released in December.

“Pricing is higher and occupancy is lower for properties managed by landlords using RealPage than for those that don’t,” Brown said. “Washington needs a competitive market to help with our critical shortage of affordable, multifamily housing. RealPage’s unfair practices are drowning renters and pricing more and more families out of stable housing in Washington.”

The lawsuit alleges RealPage and nine landlords violated the state’s Consumer Protection Act by stifling competition.

“It’s price fixing, it’s illegal and it hurts Washingtonians,” Brown said.

Chris Vialpando, a renter in Seattle’s Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, said his landlord raised his rent over 50% in 2022 based on RealPage’s algorithm. He said he is one of many “falling victim to the collusion, thereby perpetuating this already complex, systemic housing crisis.”

“And I also understand that inflation and market adjustments are naturally part of the rental economy, but what I don’t understand is how these predatory companies can continue to operate freely without continuous authoritative examination and scrutiny,” Vialpando said.

In a statement, a RealPage spokesperson said the company’s software “is purposely designed and built to be legally compliant and has always used data legally and responsibly, and we have a long history of working constructively to show that.”

“We believe the claims brought by Washington State AG Nick Brown are devoid of merit and will do nothing to make housing more affordable,” spokesperson Jennifer Bowcock said. “Washington State should stop scapegoating pro-competitive technology, and we encourage Washington State’s public leaders to focus on meeting the greater demand for housing with more supply.”

Gov. Bob Ferguson, when he was still attorney general, launched an investigation into the RealPage software in early 2023.

The investigation came on the heels of a ProPublica report on RealPage’s algorithm that found just 10 property managers oversaw 70% of apartments in a Seattle neighborhood. All of them used RealPage’s pricing software.

The state had previously been part of an ongoing federal lawsuit along with other states and the U.S. Department of Justice over antitrust concerns, but dropped out of that case in late February. The attorney general’s office withdrew from that lawsuit because “We saw a bigger problem,” Brown said.

“We saw a conspiracy, and we saw a greater path to help more renters,” he said. “We filed this case in state court because we believe that state law protects a greater number of Washingtonians and tenants than the federal case.”

Tenants across the country have also brought a class-action lawsuit against RealPage and its property management clients that is ongoing in federal court in Tennessee.

Washington’s lawsuit asks a judge to declare the conduct illegal, award restitution and hand down civil penalties.

The landlords named as defendants in the complaint are Greystar, Cushman & Wakefield, LivCor, UDR, Prime Administration, Quarterra Multifamily Communities, LaSalle Properties, MG Properties and Sares Regis Management Company.

Lawmakers in Olympia are also looking to ban algorithmic rental price-fixing this year. Senate Bill 5469 would prohibit the collection of data that feeds recommendations for rental rates and bar landlords from obtaining those recommendations. The attorney general would enforce violations of the proposed law.

The state Senate passed the measure on a party-line vote this month, and it is now moving through the House.

This week, RealPage sued the city of Berkeley, California, over a similar ordinance aimed at stopping landlords from using algorithms to set rents.

In an interview the day he took office in January, the new attorney general said one of his top priorities was tackling “unjust, illegal, misleading business practices” in the housing sector.

“It’s our job to be a watchdog, and make sure that housing is affordable and available for everyone,” Brown said at the time.

The Washington State Standard originally published this story on April 3, 2024.

This article originally appeared in the Washington State Standard.

Washington is suing a property management software company and a handful of landlords over allegations they colluded to inflate rents through a price-fixing scheme, Attorney General Nick Brown announced Thursday.

The state says RealPage has three products to help landlords calculate rental prices and manage occupancy. The company uses nonpublic information that landlords agree to share to create an algorithm that pushes them to raise rents, according to the lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court.

Instead of competing, the landlords all raise their prices together based on RealPage’s recommendations, according to the complaint. So instead of the market helping determine rents, it’s software.

RealPage also tells landlords to nix discounts they give to attract tenants, the lawsuit alleges. And it reportedly recommends keeping units vacant to keep rents up, instead of leasing them for a lower price.

In a press conference Thursday, Brown said property managers used the Texas-based RealPage software to price an estimated 800,000 leases in Washington between 2017 and 2024. About a third of Washington residents are renters, according to the lawsuit.

In 2023, more than half of Washington’s renters paid more than 30% of their income toward rent, according to a state report released in December.

“Pricing is higher and occupancy is lower for properties managed by landlords using RealPage than for those that don’t,” Brown said. “Washington needs a competitive market to help with our critical shortage of affordable, multifamily housing. RealPage’s unfair practices are drowning renters and pricing more and more families out of stable housing in Washington.”

The lawsuit alleges RealPage and nine landlords violated the state’s Consumer Protection Act by stifling competition.

“It’s price fixing, it’s illegal and it hurts Washingtonians,” Brown said.

Chris Vialpando, a renter in Seattle’s Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, said his landlord raised his rent over 50% in 2022 based on RealPage’s algorithm. He said he is one of many “falling victim to the collusion, thereby perpetuating this already complex, systemic housing crisis.”

“And I also understand that inflation and market adjustments are naturally part of the rental economy, but what I don’t understand is how these predatory companies can continue to operate freely without continuous authoritative examination and scrutiny,” Vialpando said.

In a statement, a RealPage spokesperson said the company’s software “is purposely designed and built to be legally compliant and has always used data legally and responsibly, and we have a long history of working constructively to show that.”

“We believe the claims brought by Washington State AG Nick Brown are devoid of merit and will do nothing to make housing more affordable,” spokesperson Jennifer Bowcock said. “Washington State should stop scapegoating pro-competitive technology, and we encourage Washington State’s public leaders to focus on meeting the greater demand for housing with more supply.”

Gov. Bob Ferguson, when he was still attorney general, launched an investigation into the RealPage software in early 2023.

The investigation came on the heels of a ProPublica report on RealPage’s algorithm that found just 10 property managers oversaw 70% of apartments in a Seattle neighborhood. All of them used RealPage’s pricing software.

The state had previously been part of an ongoing federal lawsuit along with other states and the U.S. Department of Justice over antitrust concerns, but dropped out of that case in late February. The attorney general’s office withdrew from that lawsuit because “We saw a bigger problem,” Brown said.

“We saw a conspiracy, and we saw a greater path to help more renters,” he said. “We filed this case in state court because we believe that state law protects a greater number of Washingtonians and tenants than the federal case.”

Tenants across the country have also brought a class-action lawsuit against RealPage and its property management clients that is ongoing in federal court in Tennessee.

Washington’s lawsuit asks a judge to declare the conduct illegal, award restitution and hand down civil penalties.

The landlords named as defendants in the complaint are Greystar, Cushman & Wakefield, LivCor, UDR, Prime Administration, Quarterra Multifamily Communities, LaSalle Properties, MG Properties and Sares Regis Management Company.

Lawmakers in Olympia are also looking to ban algorithmic rental price-fixing this year. Senate Bill 5469 would prohibit the collection of data that feeds recommendations for rental rates and bar landlords from obtaining those recommendations. The attorney general would enforce violations of the proposed law.

The state Senate passed the measure on a party-line vote this month, and it is now moving through the House.

This week, RealPage sued the city of Berkeley, California, over a similar ordinance aimed at stopping landlords from using algorithms to set rents.

In an interview the day he took office in January, the new attorney general said one of his top priorities was tackling “unjust, illegal, misleading business practices” in the housing sector.

“It’s our job to be a watchdog, and make sure that housing is affordable and available for everyone,” Brown said at the time.

The Washington State Standard originally published this story on April 3, 2024.

Gov. Bob Ferguson announced Tuesday he will not sign either proposed budget released last week by legislative Democrats, saying the plans rely too heavily on a “wealth tax” on the state’s highest earners. Ferguson called the tax “untested” and “difficult to implement.”

House and Senate Democrats each released proposals for how to fund government services for the next four years. To fill an estimated $15 billion shortfall, both proposals rely on a slate of new tax proposals, including a tax on individuals with more than $50 million in stocks, bonds and other financial assets.

Ferguson said Democrats are proposing “far too much” in new taxes and that a wealth tax is an unsustainable idea that may not hold up in court.

“If the Legislature wishes to complete our work on time, they need to immediately move the budget discussions in a significantly different direction on both of these issues,” he said.

Ferguson’s reservations about a wealth tax are not new. A week before he was inaugurated, Ferguson told reporters that he was skeptical of the idea. In his inaugural address, he said he would not sign a budget that requires “unrealistic revenue growth to balance.”

On Tuesday, he said he understands that lawmakers cannot balance the budget on cuts alone but would not commit to any new taxes. Democrats have also proposed new taxes on wealthy employers, and increased business and property taxes.

Ferguson said he is continuing to have conversations with lawmakers about how to move forward.

Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, chair of the Ways and Means Committee, said she is confident that lawmakers and the governor will work together to complete a budget that puts the state on “strong financial footing for the future.”

“I appreciate the governor providing more clarity today on his vision for the operating budget and his commitment to a balanced approach – one that includes both new revenue and responsible, targeted reductions,” Robinson said in a statement. “This aligns with the thoughtful, forward-looking mindset that’s guided our process from the start.”

Ferguson said crafting a sustainable budget will be even more important with looming federal funding cuts that could cause uncertainty in the state’s financial future. He emphasized the importance of keeping the rainy-day fund – the state’s savings account – intact.

“Our budget situation is grim, but it may soon become dire,” he said.

House Democrats have proposed leaving the state’s $1.6 billion in reserves untouched, while Senate Democrats propose dipping into the fund and paying it back by 2027.

Ferguson said lawmakers must continue to focus on trimming spending. He released a plan last month for about $4 billion in proposed cuts on top of the $3 billion former Gov. Jay Inslee proposed in December. Most of those cuts were included in Democrats’ proposals.

If lawmakers want to finish the legislative session on time, they will need to reach a compromise with Ferguson by April 27. If they don’t finalize a budget by June 30, state funding will run out.

Gov. Bob Ferguson announced Tuesday he will not sign either proposed budget released last week by legislative Democrats, saying the plans rely too heavily on a “wealth tax” on the state’s highest earners. Ferguson called the tax “untested” and “difficult to implement.”

House and Senate Democrats each released proposals for how to fund government services for the next four years. To fill an estimated $15 billion shortfall, both proposals rely on a slate of new tax proposals, including a tax on individuals with more than $50 million in stocks, bonds and other financial assets.

Ferguson said Democrats are proposing “far too much” in new taxes and that a wealth tax is an unsustainable idea that may not hold up in court.

“If the Legislature wishes to complete our work on time, they need to immediately move the budget discussions in a significantly different direction on both of these issues,” he said.

Ferguson’s reservations about a wealth tax are not new. A week before he was inaugurated, Ferguson told reporters that he was skeptical of the idea. In his inaugural address, he said he would not sign a budget that requires “unrealistic revenue growth to balance.”

On Tuesday, he said he understands that lawmakers cannot balance the budget on cuts alone but would not commit to any new taxes. Democrats have also proposed new taxes on wealthy employers, and increased business and property taxes.

Ferguson said he is continuing to have conversations with lawmakers about how to move forward.

Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, chair of the Ways and Means Committee, said she is confident that lawmakers and the governor will work together to complete a budget that puts the state on “strong financial footing for the future.”

“I appreciate the governor providing more clarity today on his vision for the operating budget and his commitment to a balanced approach – one that includes both new revenue and responsible, targeted reductions,” Robinson said in a statement. “This aligns with the thoughtful, forward-looking mindset that’s guided our process from the start.”

Ferguson said crafting a sustainable budget will be even more important with looming federal funding cuts that could cause uncertainty in the state’s financial future. He emphasized the importance of keeping the rainy-day fund – the state’s savings account – intact.

“Our budget situation is grim, but it may soon become dire,” he said.

House Democrats have proposed leaving the state’s $1.6 billion in reserves untouched, while Senate Democrats propose dipping into the fund and paying it back by 2027.

Ferguson said lawmakers must continue to focus on trimming spending. He released a plan last month for about $4 billion in proposed cuts on top of the $3 billion former Gov. Jay Inslee proposed in December. Most of those cuts were included in Democrats’ proposals.

If lawmakers want to finish the legislative session on time, they will need to reach a compromise with Ferguson by April 27. If they don’t finalize a budget by June 30, state funding will run out.

This article was originally published by the Washington State Standard.

Washington was among 23 states that sued the Trump administration Tuesday over the cancellation of $12 billion in federal funding to address infectious diseases, substance abuse and mental illness, including about $160 million for Washington.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of the abrupt termination last week of grants related to disease tracking, vaccination efforts and other work that officials said could cost thousands of jobs in public health departments nationwide. This pot of money makes up $11 billion of the $12 billion cut.

The cuts in Washington reportedly include $118 million for the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases program, impacting 150 full-time employees. Losing this money will hurt the state’s ability to respond to emerging outbreaks, including measles and bird flu, according to the complaint.

That money also continued to support COVID-related surveillance efforts, the lawsuit says.

In total, Washington’s Department of Health stands to lose around $130 million, an agency spokesperson said last week, with the termination affecting upward of 200 department employees, and more at local health departments, tribal health clinics and community-based organizations.

One of the specific programs affected is Care Connect, which the department launched early in the pandemic to provide food and other needs to people with COVID so they could isolate. The program later shifted to meet the needs of those suffering from long COVID, among other things.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown also cites the state’s Care-A-Van mobile health clinics, which provide vaccinations and other services to underserved communities. Officials have already had to cancel clinics due to the lost funding.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rolled back the grants “for cause” because “the pandemic is over,” so the funding is no longer needed, according to the lawsuit. The states counter that the money was never intended to be used only to respond to the COVID pandemic.

The lawsuit also tackles the separate but simultaneous Trump administration axing of another $1 billion in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration funding, including $34 million for Washington.

Brown is one of several attorneys general leading Tuesday’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island. The Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are named as defendants. The Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

“We can’t make America healthy by spreading preventable diseases,” Brown said. “Aside from the illegality of these actions, the administration is also choosing to neglect the biggest public health challenges, including substance abuse and mental health crises, facing our communities.”

The states say the cuts violate the Administrative Procedure Act by suddenly terminating the grants without much explanation. The plaintiffs asked a judge for a temporary restraining order to reverse the cuts.

The state Department of Health’s now-canceled federal grant dollars were expected to expire between June 2025 and July 2026, agency spokesperson Marisol Mata Somarribas said.

Also on Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services began its purge of 10,000 federal workers.

As part of the layoff announcement, Kennedy also said he’d be halving the number of Health and Human Services regional offices from 10 to five. Seattle’s office serves Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska. Its fate was unclear Tuesday.

This is at least the eighth lawsuit Brown has led or joined against the Trump administration since January. Most have resulted in preliminary court orders blocking implementation of a variety of actions, including eliminating birthright citizenship, blocking gender-affirming care for minors and mass firings of federal workers.

The Washington State Standard originally published this story on April 1, 2025.

This article was originally published by the Washington State Standard.

Washington was among 23 states that sued the Trump administration Tuesday over the cancellation of $12 billion in federal funding to address infectious diseases, substance abuse and mental illness, including about $160 million for Washington.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of the abrupt termination last week of grants related to disease tracking, vaccination efforts and other work that officials said could cost thousands of jobs in public health departments nationwide. This pot of money makes up $11 billion of the $12 billion cut.

The cuts in Washington reportedly include $118 million for the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases program, impacting 150 full-time employees. Losing this money will hurt the state’s ability to respond to emerging outbreaks, including measles and bird flu, according to the complaint.

That money also continued to support COVID-related surveillance efforts, the lawsuit says.

In total, Washington’s Department of Health stands to lose around $130 million, an agency spokesperson said last week, with the termination affecting upward of 200 department employees, and more at local health departments, tribal health clinics and community-based organizations.

One of the specific programs affected is Care Connect, which the department launched early in the pandemic to provide food and other needs to people with COVID so they could isolate. The program later shifted to meet the needs of those suffering from long COVID, among other things.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown also cites the state’s Care-A-Van mobile health clinics, which provide vaccinations and other services to underserved communities. Officials have already had to cancel clinics due to the lost funding.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rolled back the grants “for cause” because “the pandemic is over,” so the funding is no longer needed, according to the lawsuit. The states counter that the money was never intended to be used only to respond to the COVID pandemic.

The lawsuit also tackles the separate but simultaneous Trump administration axing of another $1 billion in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration funding, including $34 million for Washington.

Brown is one of several attorneys general leading Tuesday’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island. The Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are named as defendants. The Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

“We can’t make America healthy by spreading preventable diseases,” Brown said. “Aside from the illegality of these actions, the administration is also choosing to neglect the biggest public health challenges, including substance abuse and mental health crises, facing our communities.”

The states say the cuts violate the Administrative Procedure Act by suddenly terminating the grants without much explanation. The plaintiffs asked a judge for a temporary restraining order to reverse the cuts.

The state Department of Health’s now-canceled federal grant dollars were expected to expire between June 2025 and July 2026, agency spokesperson Marisol Mata Somarribas said.

Also on Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services began its purge of 10,000 federal workers.

As part of the layoff announcement, Kennedy also said he’d be halving the number of Health and Human Services regional offices from 10 to five. Seattle’s office serves Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska. Its fate was unclear Tuesday.

This is at least the eighth lawsuit Brown has led or joined against the Trump administration since January. Most have resulted in preliminary court orders blocking implementation of a variety of actions, including eliminating birthright citizenship, blocking gender-affirming care for minors and mass firings of federal workers.

The Washington State Standard originally published this story on April 1, 2025.