Maine’s Attorney General is signing on to a nationwide lawsuit challenging the termination of $11 billion in public health grants to states.

On Tuesday, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said he was joining a group of 23 state attorneys general who are filing the suit, which says the illegal cuts impact critical public health needs like infectious disease management, emergency preparedness, and mental health and substance abuse services.

The funding slash impacts work with 70 vendors around the state and terminates at least 40 Maine CDC employees, including some who tracked infectious diseases.

The federal Department of Health and Human Services says the funding was for pandemic-era needs and is no longer necessary.

Maine stands to lose more than $91 million in health grants.