The lawsuit escalates an ongoing conflict between Democratic-led states and the Trump administration over federal public health policy. The challenge reflects the influence of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ousted the entire membership of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee and replaced its members with his own selections.
More than a dozen states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its rollback of childhood vaccine recommendations, calling the move an illegal threat to public health. The states argued that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put children’s lives at risk when it announced in January that it would stop recommending all children be immunized against the flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis, and RSV. Under the new guidance, protections against those diseases are now recommended only for certain groups deemed high-risk or when doctors recommend them through what is called “shared decision-making.”
Medical Experts Flag Health Risks
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s decision to narrow its childhood vaccine recommendations marks a departure from decades of public health guidance. Public health organizations and pediatricians warned that the narrowed recommendations could leave millions of children vulnerable to preventable diseases, with measles already spreading at its highest rate since 1991.
States Challenge the Legal Authority
The states contend the rollback violates federal law and puts economic pressure on them. Because state governments, not the federal government, retain the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren, a narrowed federal recommendation forces states to individually determine what protections to mandate—at significant expense.
“The health and safety of children across the country is not a political issue,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said at a news conference. “It is not a culture war talking point.”
Administration Pushes Back
The Department of Health and Human Services disputed the states’ characterization. Press Secretary Emily G. Hilliard called the lawsuit “a publicity stunt dressed up as a lawsuit.”
The vaccine recommendation changes reflect the influence of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has reorganized federal health policy across multiple domains. Kennedy ousted every member of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee and replaced the board with his own selections—a move the states’ complaint alleges was unlawful. The administration has also laid off thousands of workers at federal public health agencies, cut funding for scientific research, and altered government guidance on fluoride.
States Establish Independent Guidelines
The lawsuit escalates a pattern of resistance from Democratic-led states. In November 2025, the governors of California, Washington state, and Oregon announced they would establish their own vaccine recommendations after concluding the Trump administration was politicizing the CDC. Vermont and other states have since reaffirmed their own vaccination schedules, moving independently of federal guidance.