Harris County officials and a coalition of Democrat-led governments, labor unions, and non-profits have sued the Trump administration over recent federal workforce reductions.
The announcement came Tuesday during a press conference led by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and County Attorney Christian Menefee.
Menefee said that the county’s efforts to fight “environmental racism” would be hindered by cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency, one of many planned reductions as part of a recent federal agency reorganization.
“President Trump has gone too far and we will not let him get away with it,” said Menefee of Trump’s February order to implement a Department of Government Efficiency workforce optimization initiative.
The Trump administration has taken a multilayered approach to reducing the size of federal bureaucracy by offering buyouts, reducing the size of certain federal agencies, and cutting some probationary federal employees.
Menefee said that the county was taking legal action because the impact of the order was starting to be felt in Harris County.
County officials argue that the cuts could impact services at Social Security offices and hinder emergency preparedness.
“The Trump administration is pretty much undergoing a stunt,” Hidalgo said, adding that the Trump administration was only looking to make headlines.
“This is a very serious and important lawsuit,” she continued.
The lawsuit marks the latest in a series of legal clashes between Harris County and the Trump administration. Earlier this month, Harris County sued the federal government over funding cuts to a local clinic that provided free healthcare to illegal aliens.
State data shows Texas taxpayers paid $121.8 million in just one month for healthcare for illegal aliens.
The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit include some of the same unions and nonprofits that sued the Trump administration over its mass firing of probationary employees earlier this year.
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