Hawaiʻi notched a victory in its legal battles against President Donald Trump’s administration with a federal judge ruling that blocks the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from terminating $11 billion in funding.

In Hawaiʻi, that included about $89 million for immunization and mental health programs as well as health data infrastructure and moderation efforts, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.

The lawsuit, which was filed April 1 by a group of Democratic-led states including Hawaiʻi, said the cuts to public health spending would cause “serious harm to public health” and put states at “greater risk for future pandemics and the spread of otherwise preventable disease.”

The money had been allocated by Congress during the pandemic to support Covid-19 initiatives as well as mental health and substance abuse efforts. The federal government argued that the states no longer need the money because the pandemic is over.

U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy in Rhode Island granted the preliminary injunction request in the lawsuit, ruling Friday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services doesn’t have the power to make that decision. She also said the agency ignored multiple requirements that govern how block grant programs are terminated.

Gov. Josh Green welcomed the decision, pointing to the recent spread of infectious diseases like measles and bird flu. The funding cuts “would be catastrophic for Hawaiʻi,” he said in a press release.

Attorney General Anne Lopez joined 22 other states and the District of Columbia in the lawsuit. It’s one of 18 in which Hawaiʻi is a plaintiff seeking to block actions by the Trump administration.

Her office said the $89 million for Hawaiʻi was for immunization efforts and community mental health support services as well as health data infrastructure and upgrades for state labs on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi. It also funds 86 Department of Health employees.

“On top of being an illegal action, terminating hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds that have already been appropriated by Congress, without notice jeopardizes critical community health programs that serve our most vulnerable and underserved communities,” Lopez said in a press release.

The judge’s order only applies to the states involved in the lawsuit. It said the federal government must file documentation that it’s complying with the order by Tuesday.

Civil Beat is tracking Hawaiʻi’s lawsuits against the Trump administration: