The Trump administration is intervening in a high-profile Texas lawsuit against Planned Parenthood, taking ownership of a case that could fall by the wayside under the state’s newly elected Democrat attorney general.
The Justice Department outlined its intention Friday night in a court filing in the five-year-old lawsuit, which had been championed by outgoing Republican attorney general of Texas Ken Paxton. The suit accused Planned Parenthood clinic operators in the state and the national umbrella organization, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, of committing Medicaid fraud.
The move, just days after an election loss in deep red Texas, was a signal that the Trump administration could seek to supplant the Democrats’ power in former Republican strongholds, where officials had used litigation to further their agenda on social and policy issues. Under President Biden, the Justice Department in 2021 declined to step into the Planned Parenthood case.
The Texas suit accused Planned Parenthood of fraud for collecting Medicaid reimbursements while Texas had sought to remove it as a Medicaid provider. Planned Parenthood has denied the claims, noting that courts did not bar it from collecting payments during the litigation.
The state is seeking to recover $1.8 billion, which includes Medicaid reimbursements, interest and penalties. Planned Parenthood, which recently reported annual revenue of $2.1 billion, said that such a payout could result in its closure.
A lawyer for Planned Parenthood said that the Justice Department’s intervention showed that President Trump was “undeterred by the election results.”
“This is an effort by the Trump administration to shut us down,” said Susan Baker Manning, general counsel for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “It is going to weaponize the Department of Justice against us.”
Representatives of the Texas Attorney General’s office and the Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment.
Norm Eisen, the White House ethics counsel under the Obama administration and founder of the legal advocacy group Democracy Defenders Action, said it was unusual for the Justice Department to step into a case after it initially declined to intervene.
“Texas voters have now rejected Paxton and his brand of politicized litigation, which is the Justice Department’s only apparent reason for intervening,” said Mr. Eisen, whose nonprofit organization previously sued the Trump administration over election matters.
The Texas suit against Planned Parenthood was filed in 2021 by an anonymous plaintiff, Alex Doe. The next year, Mr. Paxton, an opponent of abortion access, intervened in the case on behalf of the state.
Mr. Paxton will no longer be able to lead the case against Planned Parenthood; he lost his bid for the U.S. Senate this week, as did the Republican meant to be his successor.
Instead, the role will be filled by Nathan Johnson, who won the race for attorney general as part of unexpected midterm election sweep in Texas.
Mr. Johnson, who takes office in January, said he planned to review all of the lawsuits Mr. Paxton filed during his 12-year tenure to ensure that they were cases the state should pursue. On Friday, Mr. Johnson told The New York Times the review would include the Planned Parenthood case.
“We are reviewing this action closely, including what it means for Texans and what the law allows,” Mr. Johnson said in a statement. “When I take office as Attorney General, I will take appropriate action in the interests of my state.”
Mr. Johnson, a veteran litigator, has already said he will halt Mr. Paxton’s practice of suing out-of-state doctors who mail abortion pills into Texas.
The planned moves signal an abrupt about face in Texas, where Republicans have held the position of attorney general since 1994. Democrats in some other states have indicated that they will seek to push their agenda as well. In Georgia, Governor-Elect Keisha Lance Bottoms has said she planned to seek a repeal of her state’s abortion ban.
Planned Parenthood has long been a target of conservatives as the most prominent provider of abortions in the country. While the nonprofit hasn’t offered abortion services in Texas in years, the state’s Republican leaders continued to target its ability to operate through lawsuits and legislation.
The case could go to trial as early as next spring. The presiding judge, Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, is a Trump appointee and abortion opponent.
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