Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Tennessee v. Robert F. Kennedy, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 24-5220 · judgment March 10, 2025
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
In 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stripped millions of dollars in funding from the States of Tennessee and Oklahoma because they refused to counsel or refer for abortions that are illegal under state law. Tennessee sued, alleging that HHS’s funding decision exceeded statutory authority, violated the Administrative Procedure Act, and flunked the Spending Clause clear-statement rule. A district court denied Tennessee’s request for preliminary relief. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. In doing so, the court created a circuit split on what the Spending Clause requires and drastically narrowed the prospective scope of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 603 U.S. 369 (2024). After the Sixth Circuit’s decision, HHS restored Tennessee’s funding at approximately full amounts and thereby eliminated any live dispute between the parties. The questions presented are:
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Whether, pursuant to United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U.S. 36 (1950), this Court should vacate and remand with instructions to dismiss the appeal as moot.
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Whether, in the alternative, this Court should vacate and remand for further consideration in light of Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, 145 S. Ct. 2219 (2025).
Counsel of record
For petitioner
James Matthew Rice
Office of Tennessee Attorney General
For respondent
D. John Sauer
Solicitor General
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 3 conferences
Proceedings
- Feb 23 2026Judgment Issued.
- Jan 20 2026Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED with instructions to dismiss the case as moot. See United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U. S. 36 (1950). Justice Jackson, concurring: Although I would require that the party seeking vacatur establish equitable entitlement to that remedy, I accede to vacatur here based on the Court’s established practice when the mootness occurs through the unilateral action of the party that prevailed in the lower court. See Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer, 601 U. S. 1 (2023) (Jackson, J., concurring in the judgment).
- Jan 12 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/16/2026.
- Jan 05 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/9/2026.
- Nov 25 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/12/2025.
- Nov 21 2025Reply of petitioner Tennessee filed. (Distributed)
- Nov 10 2025Brief of respondents Robert F. Kennedy, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al. filed.
- Sep 30 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including November 10, 2025.
- Sep 29 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 10, 2025 to November 10, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
- Sep 08 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including October 10, 2025.
- Sep 05 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 10, 2025 to October 10, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
- Aug 07 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 10, 2025)