Welcome to Public Health Watch, a weekly roundup from Protect Our Care tracking catastrophic activity as part of Donald Trump’s sweeping war on health care. From installing anti-vaccine zealot RFK Jr. as Secretary of HHS to empowering Elon Musk to make indiscriminate cuts to our public health infrastructure, including the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, Donald Trump is endangering the lives of millions of Americans. Protect Our Care’s Public Health Watch will shine a spotlight on the worst of the Trump/RFK/Musk war on vaccines, science and public health and serve as a resource for the press, public and advocacy groups to hold them accountable.
What’s Happening In Public Health?
Catastrophic Cuts And Cruel Policies Are Creating Chaos And Endangering Americans’ Health And Scientific Innovation
Wired: How Trump Killed Cancer Research When donald trump moved back into the White House, the United States was years into its Cancer Moonshot, a multibillion-dollar Democratic effort to halve cancer deaths by 2047. There was a kind of stalemate: New cases of the disease were emerging about as often as before; deaths were ticking steadily lower; the US Food and Drug Administration was approving new treatments, if not quite as quickly as anyone wanted. But the taps of federal funding were open as never before, from the Department of Defense to the Environmental Protection Agency to the largest funder of cancer research in the world, the National Institutes of Health. But then Trump decided that American science research was, somehow, too woke. He paused NIH grant-making for more than two months, holding up an estimated $1.5 billion in funding. He effectively halted clinical trials of new drugs. He laid off thousands of employees at the FDA, the NIH, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the Department of Veterans Affairs, an estimated $35 million in already-funded research—including for cancer—was thrown into jeopardy when Trump instituted a hiring freeze. At the EPA, staff were instructed to cancel existing grants, including to the Health Effects Institute, which has published research on the link between air pollution and cancer. And in the stopgap funding measure, set to expire in September, Republicans cut about 60 percent from the Defense Department’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs—including funding for research on breast and ovarian cancers. (The programs for pancreatic, kidney, and lung cancer disappeared from the agency’s list of funded projects and rolled under another program, which did not receive any additional funding for 2025.) At the National Institutes of Health, some grants resumed and others were slated for termination. The current state of US cancer research could fairly be described as—confusion.
- The Guardian: ‘Tremendous uncertainty’ for cancer research as US officials target mRNA vaccines As US regulators restrict Covid mRNA vaccines and as independent vaccine advisers re-examine the shots, scientists fear that an unlikely target could be next: cancer research. Messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines have shown promise in treating and preventing cancers that have often been difficult to address, such as pancreatic cancer, brain tumors and others. But groundbreaking research could stall as federal and state officials target mRNA shots, including ending federal funding for bird flu mRNA vaccines, restricting who may receive existing mRNA vaccines and, in some places, proposing laws against the vaccines. The Trump administration has also implemented unprecedented cuts to cancer research, among other research cuts and widespread layoffs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Nature: Exclusive: NIH to dismiss dozens of grant reviewers to align with Trump priorities In an unprecedented move, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) will soon disinvite dozens of scientists who were about to take positions on advisory councils that make final decisions on grant applications for the agency, Nature has learnt. NIH staff members have been instructed to nominate replacements that are aligned with the priorities of the administration of US President Donald Trump — and have been warned that political appointees might still override their suggestions and hand-pick alternative reviewers. The researchers up for dismissal, who are based at academic institutions across the country, were all nominated during the administration of Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, through a process that has been used for decades, but had not yet taken up their positions. The move will leave advisory councils at most of the NIH’s institutes understaffed, leaving them without a breadth of expertise in making final decisions about which research projects the agency funds.
New York Times: H.H.S. Finalizes Thousands of Layoffs After Supreme Court Decision The Department of Health and Human Services finalized the layoffs of thousands of employees after a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for the Trump administration to proceed with mass firings across the government. Employees received notice of their termination late Monday, marking a turning point in the reshaping of the nation’s health care work force. Those let go included people who coordinated travel for overseas drug facility inspectors, communications staff members, public records officials and employees who oversaw contracts related to medical research. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced 10,000 layoffs late in March, cutting workers across the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other federal health agencies. Some workers who received the initial layoff notices on April 1 found out only when their badge to enter a building did not work. Still, many of them remained on the federal payroll until Monday at 5 p.m., when a message went out citing last week’s Supreme Court decision that allowed Trump officials to significantly slash the size of the federal payroll even as court challenges to the administration’s plans play out.
Roll Call: CBO finds health agency cuts would result in fewer new drugs The Trump administration’s proposed cuts at the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration could lower the number of new drugs that come to market in the next three decades, according to an analysis released Friday by the Congressional Budget Office. Under hypothetical scenarios of a permanent 10 percent budget cut to the NIH and a nine-month drug review delay at the FDA due to staffing cuts, an estimated 53 drugs would not come to market over that time span, the budget office found. The analysis, requested by Senate and House Democrats, will likely become a main talking point for them during the fiscal 2026 appropriations process.
Washington Post: Trump officials halt ‘dangerous’ research, overriding NIH career scientists In May, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office surrounded by his top health officials, vowing a crackdown on “dangerous gain-of-function research” on viruses and pathogens that he alleged was occurring in the United States with inadequate oversight. “It’s a big deal,” Trump had said, alluding to the highly contested theory that the covid pandemic was caused by a lab leak related to such research in China. Soon after, researchers at the National Institutes of Health spent weeks assessing experiments for risk and preparing a report for the White House on what studies to halt, according to internal emails obtained by The Washington Post and interviews with two career staffers familiar with the process. But after the director of the NIH’s infectious-disease institute signed off on the findings, the politically appointed No. 2 in command at the NIH, Matthew Memoli, overrode career staff, according to the emails and staffers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations. Nearly a dozen tuberculosis studies that relied on long-standing research methods deemed safe by the reviewers were then added to the list.
NPR: Exclusive: Trump team withholds $140 million budgeted for fentanyl fight The Trump administration has delayed and may cancel roughly $140 million in grants to fund fentanyl overdose response efforts, according to four staff members with close knowledge of the process at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The staffers shared detailed information with NPR about the funding disruption and potential cuts on the condition of anonymity, saying they don’t have permission to speak publicly about their concerns and feared retribution from the Trump administration if identified. “These are lives at stake,” said one CDC staffer, who has a role administering the addiction grant program, known as the Overdose Data To Action program, often referred to as OD2A. “The announcement [of delays] alone could trigger layoffs and program shutdowns. It could really start a chain reaction that’s hard to come back from,” the CDC staffer said.
Politico: Tribes still waiting on Kennedy’s health promises Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly said that he wants to fix the way the government provides care to American Indians and Alaska Natives. He has yet to explain how. Whenever he’s been asked about tribal health care during congressional hearings, he’s become impassioned about the need to do better by America’s Indigenous people. He’s stressed his famous family’s long history of concern and his involvement in founding a newspaper that covers tribes. But, in his first few months as health secretary, he has failed to outline a comprehensive plan that would drastically improve Native American health. Some leaders in tribal health care are noticing.
Dismantling Key Agencies:
- Stat: HHS efficiency review blamed for delaying patient care at Indian Health Service
- Washington Post: NIH official fired amid probe of contract used to potentially hire spouse, officials say
- National Review: Exclusive: Trump Admin to Cut Off Federal Funding to Hospitals That Provide Gender-Transition Services to Minors
RFK Jr. Is An Extreme MAGA Anti-Vaxxer Who’s Breaking His “Assurances” To Key Republicans To Get Confirmed And Mis-Managing HHS
ProPublica: RFK Jr. Wants to Revolutionize a Program That Supports Childhood Immunizations. The Results Could Be Catastrophic. Five months after taking over the federal agency responsible for the health of all Americans, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to overhaul an obscure but vital program that underpins the nation’s childhood immunization system. Depending on what he does, the results could be catastrophic. In his crosshairs is the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, a system designed to provide fair and quick payouts for people who suffer rare but serious side effects from shots — without having to prove that drugmakers were negligent. Congress created the program in the 1980s when lawsuits drove vaccine makers from the market. A special tax on immunizations funds the awards, and manufacturers benefit from legal protections that make it harder to win big-money verdicts against them in civil courts. Kennedy, who founded an anti-vaccination group and previously accused the pharmaceutical industry of inflicting “unnecessary and risky vaccines” on children for profits, has long argued that the program removes any incentive for the industry to make safe products. In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Kennedy condemned what he called corruption in the program and said he had assigned a team to overhaul it and expand who could seek compensation. He didn’t detail his plans but did repeat the long-debunked claim that vaccines cause autism and suggested, without citing any evidence, that shots could also be responsible for a litany of chronic ailments, from diabetes to narcolepsy. There are a number of ways he could blow up the program and prompt vaccine makers to stop selling shots in the U.S., like they did in the 1980s. The trust fund that pays awards, for instance, could run out of money if the government made it easy for Kennedy’s laundry list of common health problems to qualify for payments from the fund.
Stat: The growing influence of vaccine skeptics inside HHS Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent much of his confirmation process before becoming the nation’s health secretary reassuring lawmakers that he would not undermine public confidence in vaccines and seeking to distance himself from the anti-vaccine group he founded, Children’s Health Defense. As health secretary, he has installed former prominent members of that group and other vaccine skeptics in positions at the department he runs or agencies it oversees. The appointment of officials from CHD, including a former president of the group, points to the growing influence of anti-vaccine advocates at federal health agencies since Kennedy took over in February. To former officials at the Department of Health and Human Services as well as public health experts, the hires are the latest signs that Kennedy is embracing vaccine skepticism and undermining the public health apparatus that reviews, approves, and recommends vaccines.
Inside Medicine: News: FDA leadership overruled staff scientists on full pediatric Covid-19 vaccine approval. The Trump administration’s newly-installed vaccine czar at the FDA, Dr. Vinay Prasad, overrode staff scientists’ recommendations for full approval of Moderna’s pediatric Covid-19 vaccine, a July 9 memo indicates. Instead, FDA leadership granted what it calls full approval to Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine to individuals ages 6 months to 11 years old; In reality, the approval applies only to children with documented health conditions that increase the risk of severe Covid-19 illness, as discussed previously here in Inside Medicine. The latest decision memo echoes similar language in a previous “override memo” that similarly limited full approval of the Novavax vaccine for adults ages 12 to 64 to people with documented risks for severe Covid-19.
CNN: RFK Jr. fires top aides in HHS shakeup US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired two of his top aides in an abrupt shakeup of the leadership at the nation’s sprawling health department, two people familiar with the matter told CNN. Kennedy’s chief of staff, Heather Flick, and deputy chief of staff for policy Hannah Anderson left HHS after only a handful of months on the job, following internal clashes that culminated in both of their removals this week. Flick had initially pushed to oust Anderson over dissatisfaction with her performance, three of the people familiar with the matter said. But the firing was not carried out through the proper processes, the people said, including taking the White House by surprise. Those complications angered Kennedy and triggered his decision to then fire Flick over his loss of confidence in her as well.
- Wall Street Journal: RFK Jr.’s Top Ranks Rocked by Personality Clashes Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s top aides have become embroiled in personality clashes, culminating this week in a White House-backed shake-up to calm infighting at the department. Kennedy’s chief of staff, Heather Flick Melanson, and his deputy chief of staff for policy, Hannah Anderson, are no longer working for the secretary, according to people familiar with the matter. The departures came Tuesday after months of personality clashes between the two women and Kennedy’s longtime aide Stefanie Spear, who was press secretary for his presidential campaign and now serves as deputy chief of staff and a senior counselor. The drama is the latest evidence of efforts by aides to control the direction of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement. His advisers have clashed over what policy efforts should get priority at the department, which oversees nearly $3 trillion in annual spending on healthcare for the elderly, food inspections, scientific research and more. His aides have also disagreed on whether the team was making fast enough progress on the movement’s goals, such as reducing Americans’ reliance on ultraprocessed foods and supporting more research on vaccinations.
Associated Press: RFK Jr. and other Trump officials embrace psychedelics after FDA setback For decades, proponents of psychedelic drugs have come to Washington with a provocative message: Illegal, mind-altering substances like LSD and ecstasy should be approved for Americans grappling with depression, trauma and other hard-to-treat conditions. A presidential administration finally seems to agree. “This line of therapeutics has tremendous advantage if given in a clinical setting and we are working very hard to make sure that happens within 12 months,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently told members of Congress. His suggested timeline for green-lighting psychedelic therapy surprised even the most bullish supporters of the drugs. The administration’s embrace of psychedelics has sparked both excitement as well as concern from those in the field, who worry the drugs might be discredited if they appear to be rushed onto the market or are too closely linked with Kennedy, who is known for controversial views on vaccines, antidepressants and fluoride.
Other MAHA Activity:
- Axios: Gen Z influencers give RFK Jr.’s movement new edge
- Axios: Scoop: RFK Jr.’s PAC stirs, fueling speculation on a 2028 campaign
- New York Times: A Kennedy Aide’s Start-Up Can Get You a Tax Break on a $9,000 Sauna
- NOTUS: The White House, Touting MAHA’s Impact, Linked to a Fan In-N-Out Account’s April Fools’ Post
- Stat: Why MAHA’s push on Coca-Cola and ice cream is ‘nutritionally hilarious’
Public Health Threats
Associated Press: As Trump’s raids ramp up, a Texas region’s residents stay inside — even when they need medical care These days, Juanita says a prayer every time she steps off the driveway of her modest rural home. The 41-year-old mother, who crossed into the United States from Mexico more than two decades ago and married an American carpenter, fears federal agents may be on the hunt for her. As she was about to leave for the pharmacy late last month, her husband called with a frantic warning: Immigration enforcement officers were swarming the store’s parking lot. Juanita, who is prediabetic, skipped filling medications that treat her nutrient deficiencies. She also couldn’t risk being detained because she has to care for her 17-year-old daughter, who has Down syndrome. As the Trump administration intensifies deportation activity around the country, some immigrants — including many who have lived in Texas’s southern tip for decades — are unwilling to leave their homes, even for necessary medical care.
Politico: US has wasted hundreds of thousands of vaccines meant for Africa, health officials there say Nearly 800,000 mpox vaccine doses the U.S. government had promised to donate to African countries experiencing an outbreak of the rash-causing disease cannot be shipped because they’re expiring in less than six months, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. “For a vaccine to be shipped to a country, we need a minimum of six months before expiration to ensure that the vaccine can arrive in good condition and also allow the country to implement the vaccination,” said Yap Boum, an Africa CDC deputy incident manager. Africa CDC is an arm of the African Union, a regional body of 55 member countries on the continent. Nearly a dozen African countries working to counter the disease have received some 3 million mpox vaccine doses since last year out of about 5 million pledged by Japan, the U.S. and the European Union, among others. The U.S. has sent 91,000 out of the more than 1 million the Biden administration pledged, and 220,000 mpox vaccine doses have enough shelf life to ship if the Trump administration signs off, according to an Africa CDC spokesperson.