Attorney General
Here's a look at documents from state attorneys general
Featured Stories
West Virginia Leads 21-State Coalition Urging Supreme Court to Block Federal Rule Eliminating Natural Gas Appliances
CHARLESTON, West Virginia, Feb. 25 -- The West Virginia Attorney General John B. McCuskey issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
West Virginia leads 21-state coalition urging Supreme Court to block federal rule eliminating natural gas appliances
West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey is leading a 21-state coalition, urging the United States Supreme Court to reverse a D.C. Circuit decision that upheld sweeping Biden-era Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency standards poised to eliminate many natural gas appliances from the market and households.
The DOE's amended efficiency
... Show Full Article
CHARLESTON, West Virginia, Feb. 25 -- The West Virginia Attorney General John B. McCuskey issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
West Virginia leads 21-state coalition urging Supreme Court to block federal rule eliminating natural gas appliances
West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey is leading a 21-state coalition, urging the United States Supreme Court to reverse a D.C. Circuit decision that upheld sweeping Biden-era Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency standards poised to eliminate many natural gas appliances from the market and households.
The DOE's amended efficiencystandards require natural gas furnaces and commercial water heaters to meet performance thresholds that only condensing appliances can satisfy, effectively banning non-condensing appliances from the market. The coalition's amicus, filed in American Gas Association v. U.S. Department of Energy, argues the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) prohibits banning appliances with protected "performance characteristics."
"This decision from the D.C. Circuit will hurt working families in West Virginia, seniors on fixed income and those in our rural communities more than any other, as they will be forced to either pay for costly home renovations or give up natural gas altogether," Attorney General McCuskey said. "That is why it is so important for us to lead this coalition in asking the Supreme Court to step in and restore the rule of law."
In West Virginia alone, more than 335,000 households -- nearly four in ten -- rely on natural gas for home heating. A large share of the state's housing stock was built before 1978 and is incompatible with condensing appliances, meaning many homeowners would face costly structural renovations simply to replace an aging furnace or water heater.
The brief argues the decision from D.C. Circuit Court failed to independently analyze the statute as federal courts are required to do. "Loper Bright was decided to prevent exactly this kind of outcome," the brief states. "When courts decline to 'second-guess' agency interpretations, they permit agencies to convert statutory ambiguity into sweeping regulatory power -- power that falls hardest on the people least able to bear it."
Attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas joined the West Virginia-led brief.
Read the brief here (https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwvago.us7.list-manage.com%2Ftrack%2Fclick%3Fu%3Ddffe711cd807d3fba5777bbf0%26id%3De7e82b0661%26e%3D63c6a19f3f&data=05%7C02%7Cacantrell%40wvago.gov%7Ce97fa4bc962545b973ea08de73c640e2%7C3a89d8fc1c954f00b5a42f0551f6bfde%7C0%7C0%7C639075492486472027%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=6Q4bADtTCOx%2F1UKMt8PB%2FXYSDKnOS6b2a5sV7bhjJ%2Bw%3D&reserved=0).
* * *
Original text here: https://ago.wv.gov/article/west-virginia-leads-21-state-coalition-urging-supreme-court-block-federal-rule-eliminating
Okla. A.G. Drummond Strengthens State's Human Trafficking Response With $1 Million in Grants
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, Feb. 25 -- Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
Drummond strengthens state's human trafficking response with $1 million in grants
Attorney General Gentner Drummond is awarding $1 million in grants to five Oklahoma organizations on the front lines of the fight against human trafficking. The funding, administered through the attorney general's Human Trafficking Response Unit, will support organizations providing direct services to survivors across the state.
"Combating human trafficking requires more than
... Show Full Article
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, Feb. 25 -- Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
Drummond strengthens state's human trafficking response with $1 million in grants
Attorney General Gentner Drummond is awarding $1 million in grants to five Oklahoma organizations on the front lines of the fight against human trafficking. The funding, administered through the attorney general's Human Trafficking Response Unit, will support organizations providing direct services to survivors across the state.
"Combating human trafficking requires more thanlaw enforcement. It requires a network of dedicated people ready to help survivors rebuild their lives," said Drummond. "These grants reflect our commitment to strengthening that network and ensuring providers have the resources they need to do this critical work. We will continue to invest in the organizations that are on the front lines every day."
To be eligible for funding, organizations must be certified Human Trafficking Service Providers through the Attorney General's Office certification process. Four of the five recipients maintained full certification throughout 2025. The fifth recipient, Wings of Hope, earned certification in the latter half of the year and received a grant award to help fully launch its program.
The following five certified providers will receive funding:
* Community Crisis Center (Grove, Jay, Miami, Vinita) - $237,500
* Domestic Violence Intervention Services, Inc. (Tulsa) - $237,500
* Dragonfly Home (Oklahoma City) - $237,500
* The Spring (Sand Springs) - $237,500
* Wings of Hope (Cushing, Guthrie, Stillwater) - $50,000
The grants will fund a range of services and operational needs, including staffing, legal advocacy, community outreach and education, facility security upgrades and professional development.
This marks the second time the Attorney General's Office has issued grant funding of this kind to certified providers. The office awarded $750,000 to certified shelters in 2024.
* * *
Original text here: https://oklahoma.gov/oag/news/newsroom/2026/february/drummond-strengthens-state-s-human-trafficking-response-with-1-million-in-grants.html
N.J. Acting Davenport Sues RFK Jr. for Endangering Children by Removing Vaccines From Childhood Immunization Policy
TRENTON, New Jersey, Feb. 25 -- New Jersey Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
Acting AG Davenport Sues RFK Jr. for Endangering Children by Removing Vaccines from Childhood Immunization Policy
Complaint Alleges RFK Jr. and CDC Bypassed Federal Law in Gutting Scientific Panel and Changing Vaccine Schedule, Endangering Lives of Children
*
Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport today joined a coalition of 15 states in challenging the Trump Administration's radical and unlawful overhaul of the nation's childhood immunization
... Show Full Article
TRENTON, New Jersey, Feb. 25 -- New Jersey Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
Acting AG Davenport Sues RFK Jr. for Endangering Children by Removing Vaccines from Childhood Immunization Policy
Complaint Alleges RFK Jr. and CDC Bypassed Federal Law in Gutting Scientific Panel and Changing Vaccine Schedule, Endangering Lives of Children
*
Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport today joined a coalition of 15 states in challenging the Trump Administration's radical and unlawful overhaul of the nation's childhood immunizationschedule.
The lawsuit challenges a January 5, 2026 CDC "Decision Memo" that stripped seven vital childhood vaccines--those protecting against rotavirus, meningitis, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)--of their universally recommended status. The complaint also challenges the unlawful replacement of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) with unqualified individuals. The complaint names Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Acting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Jay Bhattacharya, and the CDC and HHS as defendants.
The evidence that vaccines save lives and reduce illness is overwhelming. Among children born in the United States between 1994 and 2023, researchers have estimated that routine childhood vaccinations prevented approximately 508 million cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations, and over 1.1 million deaths, generating $2.7 trillion in societal savings. This remarkable achievement has been made possible in large part because of the science-based childhood vaccination schedule that federal agencies, states, and parents have confidently relied on for decades to keep children healthy. Under RFK Jr., HHS has undermined that trust and departed from established science that has saved over a million lives.
"Protecting children is a priority for our office. Compare that to the Trump Administration and Secretary Kennedy, whose reckless approach to public health policy gambles with children's lives and puts our communities in danger. RFK, Jr., replaced established experts with an unqualified vaccine panel and issued a rogue vaccine schedule that gambles with children's health and lives," said Acting Attorney General Davenport. "This radical and unlawful overhaul of the nation's childhood vaccine schedule rests on fringe theories and ignores decades of science. I will continue to protect New Jersey families from these senseless attacks on science and their children's health."
"Public trust in vaccines is built on transparency, stability, and evidence-based clinical guidance. But that trust is fragile," said Acting Health Commissioner Raynard E. Washington. "As someone who's spent a career working to build that trust, it's indefensible that our federal health institutions are now undermining it. These reckless vaccine policies not only hurt public trust; they will lead to preventable suffering and death. New Jersey will continue to follow scientific and medical consensus and challenge actions that threaten the health of our state."
In June 2025, Secretary Kennedy abruptly fired all seventeen ACIP voting members and replaced them with individuals who lack the scientific qualifications required by ACIP's own charter and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). At least nine of the thirteen current ACIP members lack the expertise or professional qualifications required for the role, and a majority have publicly expressed anti-vaccine views.
In December 2025, the reconstituted ACIP reversed nearly thirty years of CDC policy by eliminating the recommendation for a universal hepatitis B birth dose--a vaccine that is up to 90% effective in preventing perinatal infection when administered within 24 hours of birth.
Shortly thereafter, the CDC expanded its ideological attack on routine childhood vaccines. On January 5, 2026, then-Acting CDC Director Jim O'Neill--who has no medical or scientific background--signed off on a "Decision Memo" that demoted seven vaccines from the universally recommended childhood vaccination schedule to a lesser status that invites confusion and uncertainty.
Contrary to Secretary Kennedy's misinformation and insinuation, vaccines previously recommended on the CDC's childhood immunization schedule remain safe and effective, and they are critical for protecting America's children and public health at large.
The Decision Memo was not based on any new scientific evidence, any recommendation by a lawfully constituted ACIP, or any systematic review of the available data. The memo ignored the overwhelming evidence supporting the effectiveness of the CDC's pre-Kennedy childhood immunization schedule.
New Jersey's state immunization guidance is unaffected and remains grounded in scientific best practices and evidence. Still, the Trump Administration's attacks on established science undermine public trust and may result in lower vaccination rates that would lead directly to higher rates of infectious disease. For New Jersey and other states, this means a greater strain on Medicaid programs, more taxpayer funds spent combating misinformation, and wasted resources decoupling state laws, regulations, and public guidance from ACIP's and CDC's now-untrustworthy recommendations.
The plaintiff states are asking the court to declare the Kennedy Schedule and the Kennedy ACIP appointments unlawful, and to enjoin, vacate, and set aside both the new immunization schedule and the unlawful appointments.
Acting Attorney General Davenport is joined in this lawsuit with the Attorneys General of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin, and the Governor of Pennsylvania.
View Complaint (https://www.njoag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Filed-Complaint_Arizona-v-Kennedy.pdf)
* * *
Original text here: https://www.njoag.gov/acting-ag-davenport-sues-rfk-jr-for-endangering-children-by-removing-vaccines-from-childhood-immunization-policy/
HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SECURES GRAND JURY INDICTMENT AGAINST MAN ACCUSED OF OBSTRUCTION, INTIMIDATION AND WITNESS TAMPERING
HONOLULU, Hawaii, Feb. 25 -- The Hawaii Department of the Attorney General issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SECURES GRAND JURY INDICTMENT AGAINST MAN ACCUSED OF OBSTRUCTION, INTIMIDATION AND WITNESS TAMPERING
On February 20, 2026, an O'ahu Grand Jury indicted Christopher Moon on seven criminal offenses relating to allegations that he physically abused the complainant and then deterred her from cooperating with the law enforcement investigation into his alleged abuse. Moon is an investigator with the City and County of Honolulu's Department
... Show Full Article
HONOLULU, Hawaii, Feb. 25 -- The Hawaii Department of the Attorney General issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SECURES GRAND JURY INDICTMENT AGAINST MAN ACCUSED OF OBSTRUCTION, INTIMIDATION AND WITNESS TAMPERING
On February 20, 2026, an O'ahu Grand Jury indicted Christopher Moon on seven criminal offenses relating to allegations that he physically abused the complainant and then deterred her from cooperating with the law enforcement investigation into his alleged abuse. Moon is an investigator with the City and County of Honolulu's Departmentof the Prosecuting Attorney.
Moon is charged with two counts of Obstruction of Justice, two counts of Intimidation of a Witness, two counts of Tampering with a Witness, and one count of Abuse of a Family or Household Member.
The obstruction, intimidation, and tampering charges relate to two alleged schemes.
Counts one through three relate to a continuing course of conduct in which Moon repeatedly communicated with the complainant in an effort to convince her to withdraw her complaint and to prevent further investigation and criminal prosecution. Counts four through six relate to Moon sending the complainant a screenshot of fraudulent text messages purportedly from the Chief Investigator of the City and County of Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney. The fraudulent text messages expressed the purported Chief Investigator's concern about the complainant's ability to care for her child and suggested that the Chief Investigator might have to take action to remove her child from her custody.
Obstruction of Justice is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Intimidating a Witness is a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Tampering with a Witness and Abuse of a Family or Household Member are misdemeanors punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
"Our justice system depends on victims and witnesses being able to come forward without intimidation, coercion or fear. We recognize the courage that takes," said Attorney General Lopez. "This indictment reflects the department's continued commitment to protecting Hawaii residents and upholding the integrity of our justice system."
The investigation was conducted by the Department of the Attorney General's Special Investigation and Prosecution Division (SIPD). The Honolulu Police Department located and arrested Moon on the strength of the grand jury's bench warrant and assisted in the execution of a search warrant.
The case, State v. Christopher Moon, 1CPC-26-0000247 is being prosecuted by SIPD Deputy Attorney General Leigh M. Okimoto.
Criminal charges are only allegations; Moon is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
SIPD is the state of Hawaii's primary law enforcement unit responsible for investigating and prosecuting corruption, fraud and economic crimes. The public can report corruption, fraud and/or economic crime using the Submit a Tip feature on the SIPD website at https://ag.hawaii.gov/sipd/tips/. If there is an emergency or immediate threat to life, please call 911.
* * *
Original text here: https://ag.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/News-Release-2026-08.pdf
Ga. A.G. Carr Leads 19-State Coalition to Preserve Access to Critical Crime-Fighting Tool
ATLANTA, Georgia, Feb. 25 -- Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
Carr Leads 19-State Coalition to Preserve Access to Critical Crime-Fighting Tool
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is leading a 19-state coalition in fighting to preserve access to automatic license-plate readers (ALPR) - a critical law enforcement tool that has helped to solve murders, kidnappings, and armed robberies.
"The evidence is clear - automatic license-plate readers help to capture some of society's most violent criminals, who have no business being out on the
... Show Full Article
ATLANTA, Georgia, Feb. 25 -- Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
Carr Leads 19-State Coalition to Preserve Access to Critical Crime-Fighting Tool
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is leading a 19-state coalition in fighting to preserve access to automatic license-plate readers (ALPR) - a critical law enforcement tool that has helped to solve murders, kidnappings, and armed robberies.
"The evidence is clear - automatic license-plate readers help to capture some of society's most violent criminals, who have no business being out on thestreets," said Carr. "We have a basic duty to keep our states and our communities safe. We must provide law enforcement with the tools they need, and the record of success with this critical technology is exemplary."
In a brief filed in Shannon Schemel, et al., v. City of Marco Island, Florida, the attorneys general argue that state and local governments are permitted to use technology to ensure public safety and bring criminals to justice. This includes automatic license plate readers, which enable law enforcement on opposite ends of the country to coordinate the apprehension of criminals and the recovery of countless victims. More than 20 states, including Georgia, have enacted statutes regulating law enforcement's use of automatic license plate readers, and the brief lists several examples in which this data has proven essential to criminal investigations.
* In one recent case, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office was alerted by a roadside ALPR to a car associated with a missing person. Deputies eventually arrested the driver, a 25-year-old Idaho sex offender, and rescued the missing child he was transporting.
* Last October, shortly after a Statesboro woman told police she could not find her son, the man's car alerted an ALPR near Cincinnati. Statesboro officers coordinated with their Ohio counterparts to apprehend the driver, who was soon charged with murder after the missing man's body was found.
* Last month, DeKalb County Police used an ALPR system to make three arrests mere hours after a gas-station shooting critically injured a nearby toddler.
* In July, Police in Lawrenceville used an ALPR alert to locate a funeral home operator wanted for sex trafficking, child molestation, and a host of other felonies more than 200 miles away from his base of operations in rural Adel, Georgia.
Yet, with this suit, individuals are attempting to declare the use of this technology unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment. More than two dozen district courts have previously rejected similar challenges, and the attorneys general ask the Eleventh Circuit to do the same.
As stated in the brief, "If courts strip law enforcement of this valuable crime-fighting tool, our streets will be more dangerous, our investigations less effective, our criminals emboldened, and our people less safe. Nothing in the Constitution requires that chilling result."
The following attorneys general have joined in signing this Georgia-led brief: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia
Find a copy of the brief here (https://law.georgia.gov/document/document/schemel-v-city-marco-island-amicus-brief-filedpdf--UNPUBLISHED-document--DO-NOT-SHARE-this-URL--/download).
* * *
Original text here: https://law.georgia.gov/press-releases/2026-02-24/carr-leads-19-state-coalition-preserve-access-critical-crime-fighting
Del. A.G. Jennings, DOJ Employee to Accompany Rep. Sarah McBride and Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester to State of the Union Address
DOVER, Delaware, Feb. 25 -- Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
AG Jennings, DOJ employee to accompany Rep. Sarah McBride and Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester to State of the Union Address
Attorney General Kathy Jennings today announced that she will attend the State of the Union Address as a guest of Congresswoman Sarah McBride, while Director of Outreach and the DOJ's Immigration Assistance Maria Mesias-Tatnall will attend as a guest of Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester.
* * *
"It is an incredible honor to be invited by our Congresswoman
... Show Full Article
DOVER, Delaware, Feb. 25 -- Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
AG Jennings, DOJ employee to accompany Rep. Sarah McBride and Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester to State of the Union Address
Attorney General Kathy Jennings today announced that she will attend the State of the Union Address as a guest of Congresswoman Sarah McBride, while Director of Outreach and the DOJ's Immigration Assistance Maria Mesias-Tatnall will attend as a guest of Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester.
* * *
"It is an incredible honor to be invited by our Congresswomanto attend the State of the Union," said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. "Even before her tenure in Congress, Sarah McBride has long been a champion of working families in our state. I'm also thrilled to be attending alongside the DOJ's very own Maria Mesias-Tatnall, whose work supporting Delaware's immigrant community has been nothing short of heroic. Our attendance together is a reminder that all of our work - whether it's as federal representatives, state attorneys general, or advocates on the ground - is inherently connected: when it comes to standing up for Delaware and Delawareans, it takes all of us."
* * *
Rep. McBride's and Sen. Blunt Rochester's invitations underscore the importance of collaboration between state and federal officials to protect and defend Delaware's interests in the face of policies that raise everyday costs, threaten critical federal funding, and imperil Delawareans' rights.
Maria Mesias-Tatnall has shown incredible dedication in her work as Director of Outreach and Immigration Assistance. Last year, a Delawarean was arrested and taken from her home in front of her children with no warrant for her arrest. Years prior, she assisted law enforcement in prosecuting and deporting her ex-husband. Without confirming her immigration status, and despite her legal residence in the United States under a U Visa, this survivor of domestic violence was removed to a detention facility in Louisiana with the intention to deport her back to the country of her abuser. When legal representatives learned of this and negotiated for her release, Mesias-Tatnall dropped everything and flew to Louisiana to escort her home.
Since President Trump's inauguration in 2025, AG Jennings has filed nearly 50 lawsuits against the federal government--preserving more than $865 million in federal funding for Delaware and protecting consumers, health care access, and other critical services.
* * *
Original text here: https://news.delaware.gov/2026/02/24/ag-jennings-doj-employee-to-accompany-rep-sarah-mcbride-and-sen-lisa-blunt-rochester-to-state-of-the-union-address/
Ariz. A.G. Mayes Leads Multistate Lawsuit Challenging the Kennedy Vaccine Schedule and Unlawful Overhaul of Federal Childhood Immunization Policy
PHOENIX, Arizona, Feb. 25 -- Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
Attorney General Mayes Leads Multistate Lawsuit Challenging the Kennedy Vaccine Schedule and Unlawful Overhaul of Federal Childhood Immunization Policy
Complaint alleges RFK Jr. and CDC bypassed federal law, ignored scientific evidence, and endangered children by gutting recommended childhood vaccines.
*
Attorney General Kris Mayes today led a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration's radical overhaul of the nation's childhood immunization schedule. The
... Show Full Article
PHOENIX, Arizona, Feb. 25 -- Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes issued the following news release on Feb. 24, 2026:
* * *
Attorney General Mayes Leads Multistate Lawsuit Challenging the Kennedy Vaccine Schedule and Unlawful Overhaul of Federal Childhood Immunization Policy
Complaint alleges RFK Jr. and CDC bypassed federal law, ignored scientific evidence, and endangered children by gutting recommended childhood vaccines.
*
Attorney General Kris Mayes today led a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration's radical overhaul of the nation's childhood immunization schedule. Thecomplaint, filed today, names Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Acting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Jay Bhattacharya, and the CDC and HHS as defendants.
The lawsuit challenges a January 5, 2026 CDC "Decision Memo" that stripped seven childhood vaccines--those protecting against rotavirus, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)--of their universally recommended status. The complaint also challenges the unlawful replacement of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the expert federal panel that has guided U.S. vaccine policy for decades.
"For decades, the CDC's childhood immunization schedule has been grounded in rigorous scientific evidence and has saved millions of lives," said Attorney General Mayes. "Secretary Kennedy and the Trump administration have thrown that science out the window. They fired qualified experts, replaced them with unqualified ideologues, and then concocted a dangerous new vaccine schedule that will put Arizona's children--and children across the country--at risk of contracting diseases that are preventable."
According to the 2024 CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, researchers have estimated that among children born in the U.S. between 1994 and 2023, routine childhood vaccinations prevented approximately 508 million cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations, and over 1.1 million deaths, generating $2.7 trillion in societal savings.
This remarkable achievement has been made possible in large part by leading medical scholars and public health experts who have served on ACIP and established the science-based childhood vaccination schedule that federal agencies, states, and parents have confidently relied on for decades.
In June 2025, Secretary Kennedy abruptly fired all seventeen ACIP voting members and replaced them with individuals who lack the scientific qualifications required by ACIP's own charter and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). At least nine of the thirteen current ACIP members lack the expertise or professional qualifications required for the role, and a majority have publicly expressed views aligned with Secretary Kennedy's well-documented opposition to vaccines.
In December 2025, the reconstituted ACIP reversed nearly thirty years of CDC policy by eliminating the recommendation for a universal hepatitis B birth dose--a vaccine that is up to 90 percent effective in preventing perinatal infection when administered within 24 hours of birth.
Shortly thereafter, the CDC expanded its ideological attack on routine childhood vaccines. On January 5, 2026, then-Acting CDC Director Jim O'Neill--who has no medical or scientific background--signed off on a "Decision Memo" that demoted seven vaccines from the universally recommended childhood vaccination schedule to a lesser status that invites confusion and uncertainty.
The Decision Memo was not based on any new scientific evidence, any recommendation by a lawfully constituted ACIP, or any systematic review of the available data. Instead, it relied primarily on superficial comparisons to purported "peer countries"--particularly Denmark--while ignoring the fundamental differences between those nations and the United States, as well as the overwhelming evidence supporting the effectiveness of the CDC's pre-Kennedy childhood immunization schedule.
Additionally, in contrast to countries like Denmark with universal healthcare, more than 100 million Americans lack usual access to primary care, making the instruction to "discuss vaccines with your clinician" essentially meaningless.
Lower vaccination rates will in turn lead directly to higher rates of infectious disease. For Arizona and other states, this means a greater strain on their Medicaid programs and public health systems, more time and money spent combating outbreaks and misinformation, and wasted resources decoupling state laws, regulations, and public guidance from ACIP's and CDC's now-untrustworthy recommendations.
Contrary to Secretary Kennedy's misinformation and insinuation, vaccines previously recommended on the CDC's pre-Kennedy childhood immunization schedule remain safe and effective, and they are critical for protecting America's children and public health at large.
The plaintiff states are asking the court to declare the Kennedy Schedule and the Kennedy ACIP appointments unlawful, and to enjoin, vacate, and set aside both the new immunization schedule and the unlawful appointments.
Co-leading this lawsuit with Attorney General Mayes is California Attorney General Rob Bonta. They are joined by the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and the Governor of Pennsylvania.
A copy of the complaint is available here (https://www.azag.gov/sites/default/files/2026-02/Filed%20Complaint.pdf).
* * *
Original text here: https://www.azag.gov/press-release/attorney-general-mayes-leads-multistate-lawsuit-challenging-kennedy-vaccine-schedule
