Trump and Bobby Junior fill the US Health and Human Services Dept. with quack, loonies and con artists
By Eagan Kemp
Download the full report 457.3 KB
Kennedy’s promotion of conspiracy theories and dangerous anti-science views should have disqualified him from ever being nominated for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Even prior to his confirmation as HHS Secretary, his misleading anti-vaccine positions contributed to the dangerous rise of vaccine skepticism, which have had deadly results in some cases.[1] He perpetuated skepticism about established scientific facts, for example that the HIV virus causes AIDS.[2] He has touted racist pseudoscience about vaccines and COVID.[3] His claims that environmental chemical exposures can cause children to become gay or transgender are as absurd as they are false.[4]
These
dangerous views are just the tip of the iceberg for a man whose understanding
of science is completely divorced from reality.[5] Such
anti-science views are dangerous on their own but could be catastrophic when
spouted by someone serving as the top public health official in the nation.
Kennedy made clear prior to confirmation that he planned to
dismantle the very public health institutions he was being nominated to lead.
He publicly stated that he would de-emphasize research on drug development and
infectious disease, giving them “a break for about eight years, and instead
primarily focus on chronic diseases.”[6] This
would be a dangerous dereliction of duty, given the important role HHS plays in
ensuring the American people are safe from infectious disease and have access
to safe and effective medicines. Prior to his confirmation, Kennedy also
pledged to fire hundreds of employees of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), told Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employees to “pack [their]
bags,” and said he would like to clear out entire departments of the federal
government, including the nutrition department of the FDA.[7]
Even when Kennedy appears to be critiquing aspects of our
broken health care system, like Big Pharma, there is reason to be skeptical of
his intentions. Instead of strengthening scientific standards at the FDA to
crack down on Pharma abuses, Kennedy has lowered standards and disregarded
science in order to tout unproven medications and treatments.[8]
Successful health initiatives rely on public confidence.
With Kennedy taking command of the HHS, Americans are presented lies and
disinformation at an unprecedented scale that are capable of unwinding a
century of progress on fighting disease and promoting public health.
Mehmet Oz is Working to Further Privatize
Medicare, Threatening Care for Millions
Companies offering
privatized Medicare Advantage plans are doing a worse job serving seniors and
people with disabilities than traditional Medicare.[11] Privatized
Medicare Advantage plans make it difficult for patients to get the care they
need and for doctors to provide necessary care. For example, a report from the
HHS Office of the Inspector General found that privatized Medicare insurers
were denying large numbers of Medicare Advantage enrollees medically necessary
care.[12] The
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that patients with
significant care needs, including those in the last year of their life, were
more likely to drop their privatized Medicare Advantage plan and return to
traditional Medicare.[13] This
indicates that these patients were unable to receive necessary care and wanted
to return to traditional Medicare where their choice of provider and access to
services are guaranteed.
In addition to providing
inferior service, privatized Medicare is also a waste of taxpayer dollars. Just
last year, these companies cost Medicare an excess of around $82 billion.[14] One
study found that, since 2007, overpayments to private Medicare companies have
added up to more than $600 billion.[15] If
this trend continues, the U.S. could be overpaying insurance companies by more
than $1 trillion over the next decade.[16] Taxpayer
dollars are better spent serving patients, instead of lining the coffers of
greedy insurance corporations.
Medicare Advantage plans
regularly deny needed care, making it difficult for low-resource hospitals to
remain open to serve the public. If Oz gets his wish of further expanding
Medicare Advantage, it will threaten the solvency of many hospitals, particularly
rural hospitals currently at risk of closure, as they would struggle to keep
their doors open because they wouldn’t have the consistent funding they need to
continue serving their communities.[17]
At the time of his
nomination, Oz had massive conflicts of interest, including investments in
privatized Medicare Advantage insurers. Based on disclosures from 2022, Dr. Oz
owned between $280,000 and $600,000 in shares in UnitedHealth Group, a major
Medicare Advantage insurer, and between $50,000 and $100,000 in shares of CVS
Health.[18] Oz
also raised ethical concerns when he appeared to have violated marketing
disclosure requirements in promoting the supplement company, iHerb, on social
media.[19] In
addition, he previously publicly promoted supplements without sufficient
evidence of their effectiveness.[20] While
Oz pledged during the confirmation process to divest some of his assets,
questions remain about the extent to which his divestments will be sufficient
to prevent ongoing conflicts of interest.[21]
Oz is now helping enact the
Trump Administration’s dangerous agenda, including legislation that would strip
crucial health care services through Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act from
millions of Americans and use that money to give tax breaks to billionaires.[22] Oz
is even planning to make traditional Medicare worse by adding AI-powered prior
authorization, threatening access to certain types of services for seniors and
people with disabilities.[23] Dr.
Oz threatens to take us backward and make health care even more difficult for
Americans to access and afford.
Though other nominees drew
more widespread attention and concern, Trump’s dangerous choice to nominate Jim
O’Neill to serve as Deputy Secretary, the second-in-command at HHS, must not be
overlooked. HHS and its subagencies are intended to play a critical role in
protecting public health through providing health care coverage,
regulating food, tobacco, drugs and other medical products, working to prevent
and control infectious and chronic diseases, and more. O’Neill is a long-time
venture capital investor with concerning views that reflect his significant
financial ties to for-profit biomedical companies and his interests run counter
to that public health mandate.[24]
He previously disparaged
the core work and principles of the FDA. He has wrongly stated that “regulatory
costs that the FDA impose kill a lot of people and provide a lot of harm to the
economy.”[25] In
fact, the FDA plays a crucial role in preventing dangerous and ineffective
drugs and devices from coming to market. When functioning properly, the FDA
benefits consumers and manufacturers alike by scientifically evaluating the
safety and effectiveness of medical products.
Even more disturbingly,
O’Neill has said that the FDA should approve drugs after their sponsors have
demonstrated safety but not efficacy, and “let people start using them, at
their own risk.”[26] Not
only would such an approach threaten to reverse a century of progress for drug
regulation in the United States, it also indicates a fundamental
misunderstanding of the FDA approval process. Pharmaceuticals receive marketing
approval based on their risk-benefit profile, which takes into account both
safety and a determination that a drug’s benefits for a specific approved use
are sufficient to outweigh its adverse effects.
O’Neill has disparaged the
FDA’s essential role in the regulation of diagnostic tests that rely upon
computer algorithms. He served in the George W. Bush Administration at HHS and
had a role in overseeing “complex laboratory developed tests.” O’Neill reportedly
opposed advancing regulations related to FDA oversight of this type of tests.[27] Medical
devices that use artificial intelligence are now poised to have broad effects
on medical practice from the diagnoses and treatment of patients to insurance
claim processing.[28] To
safeguard the nation’s health, thoughtful and responsible oversight of
artificial intelligence is essential for both the FDA and HHS.
O’Neill’s views align with
his business interests, raising concerns about conflicts of interest. O’Neill
led investment funds that backed for-profit biomedical companies developing
pharmaceuticals, software algorithms used within medical devices, and medical
robotics, among other health technologies.[29] If
O’Neill’s deregulatory views are implemented as HHS regulations and policies,
such companies would likely benefit.
With O’Neill serving as the
deputy HHS secretary, there could be a push for new drugs, devices and other
medical products to reach the market more rapidly, but with insufficient review
of their safety and effectiveness. Moreover, while he has a limited public
record of comments on health issues broadly, his dangerous and misinformed
views about the workings of the FDA provide deep cause for concern that he will
prioritize ideological and corporate profit considerations over the public
health mandate of the Department.
Casey Means is Wholly
Unqualified to Serve as a Lead U.S. Public Health Official
As the Surgeon General of
the United States, Means is charged with leading the U.S. Public Health
Service Commissioned Corps – over 6,000 civil servants dedicated to improving
public health in the United States, despite having little to no managerial
experience in the context of government agencies or scientific research. She
would also be charged with playing a critical role in educating the American
public about the best available science and, when needed, to issue
authoritative public health advisories.
Means does not have an
active medical license and dropped out before completing her surgical
residency.[30] She
states that it was after leaving traditional medical practice that she began to
“understand the real reasons why people get sick” and properly treat them.[31] Colleagues
from her residency have criticized her for wrongly perpetuating the idea that
modern medicine is a conspiracy to keep people sick.[32]
Means has expressed
misinformed and conspiratorial thinking on public health issues in blog posts
and interviews as a wellness influencer. She has called birth control pills a
“disrespect of life.”[33] She
has declined to distance herself from anti-vaccine positions espoused by Robert
F. Kennedy, Jr., refused to say if she thinks vaccines are effective, and has
even expressed skepticism about the hepatitis B vaccination for babies.[34] She
wrote, “There is growing evidence that the total burden of the current extreme
and growing vaccine schedule is causing health declines in vulnerable
children.”[35]
Means also has potential
conflicts of interest. She founded and is the chief medical officer of Levels,
a membership-based continuous glucose monitoring technology company.[36] If
she does not step down from this role and divest from the company, she will
likely be engaging directly on matters as Surgeon General from which she stands
to personally profit.
The range of unscientific
ideas, wellness products and conspiratorial claims that Means is associated
with makes her a potentially dangerous person to serve in a role that requires
being a credible health communicator for the country and upholding sound science.[37]
Jay
Bhattacharya and Marty Makary Appear to Just be Rubber Stamps for Trump’s
Dangerous Health Agenda
Bhattacharya was confirmed
as the Director of NIH, despite his concerning views on COVID-19 and herd
immunity and a willingness to target perceived political enemies for funding
cuts.[38] Bhattacharya
supported the idea of letting COVID-19 run through the population and hoped to
rely on herd immunity, a strategy that could have led to many more
hospitalizations and deaths.[39] In
his confirmation hearing, Bhattacharya appeared focused on defending the bad
ideas of Kennedy and Trump.[40]
While Makary was initially
considered a more pro-industry candidate, his opposition to COVID-19 vaccine
mandates have raised concerns about whether he will just be a rubber stamp for
some of Kennedy’s worst instincts.[41] In
his hearing, he failed to push back on any of the terrible policies of Trump or
on Kennedy’s misinformation about science, raising further concerns about what
his tenure at FDA will be like.[42]
Patients, Providers,
Public Interest Groups, and Members of Congress Fought Back Against these Bad
Nominees
There has been a
groundswell of opposition to this litany of unqualified and dangerous
candidates. Groups, advocates, elected officials and everyday Americans are
angry about what is happening with our health care system and are standing up
to fight back against bad nominees, cuts to crucial programs, and attacks on
vulnerable communities.
As soon as these terrible
nominees started to be announced, people rose in opposition. On Kennedy, Public
Citizen partnered with Protect Our Care to launch a sign-on letter highlighting
just how much opposition there was across the health care and broader nonprofit
space. The letter was signed by 87 national and state groups, representing a
wide range of interests and sectors.[43] Public
Citizen and numerous other groups also worked with the committees of
jurisdiction, including conducting research and suggesting questions to be
asked of Kennedy in his hearings.
When Oz was announced,
Public Citizen rapidly pulled together a factsheet outlining the danger he
poses, particularly on further privatizing Medicare and on his significant
conflicts of interest.[44] Public
Citizen also rallied groups to sign a letter opposing Oz for CMS Administrator,
which was signed by 75 national and state groups.[45]
For Jim O’Neill, Public
Citizen partnered with Doctors for America to co-lead a sign-on letter opposing
his nomination for HHS deputy secretary, which 47 other groups also signed.[46] Public
Citizen also drafted a factsheet outlining his dangerous views and conflicts of
interest.[47]
On Casey Means, Public
Citizen worked with the Center for Science in the Public Interest on to co-lead
a sign-on letter opposing her nomination for U.S. Surgeon General. The letter
was signed by 32 state and national groups.
Since
Taking Office, Trump and his Allies are Already Wreaking Havoc on Health
The first few months of the
Trump Administration have brought chaos and disaster to an already fragmented
and dysfunctional health care system. From efforts to make massive cuts to the
ACA and Medicare and layoffs of huge numbers of HHS staff across the agency, it
is tough to keep up with all the damage being done.
Early efforts to fire
inspectors general, officials whose job it is to ensure agencies are
accountable to the American people, raised immediate concerns about the
priorities of the Trump administration.[48] Workers
across health care agencies have faced confusing mass firings and layoffs, with
some later receiving offers for reinstatement.[49] These
firings have included the gutting of entire offices and delays of important
programs and research.[50] These
cuts also have the potential of hurting counties around the country where
important research is being conducted.[51] The
Trump administration also removed thousands of web pages that doctors and other
health professionals rely on for important information.[52]
Kennedy failed to take
crucial steps to contain a dangerous measles outbreak and instead spread
misinformation about the measles vaccines and possible treatments.[53] In
an attack on trans people, the administration ordered the NIH to conduct
politically motivated “research” on the extent to which trans people
“detransition” or experience regret after transitioning.[54] Without
a confirmed head of the Centers for Disease Control, Kennedy unilaterally ended
recommendations for a yearly COVID-19 booster for healthy children and pregnant
women.[55] Given
that Kennedy’s HHS released a report that was at least partially generated by
AI, which included a number of AI hallucinated research articles, it is hard to
take anything they produce seriously.[56]
Kennedy fired all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
(ACIP), an important committee that advises on which vaccines Americans should
get, and appointed a number of unqualified people.[57] Kennedy
also weakened the COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for pregnant persons
and children, without even waiting for the ACIP to discuss the changes.[58]
At the behest of Trump,
Congressional Republicans in Congress passed a massive tax cut for billionaires
paid for in part by huge cuts to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and other
crucial programs.[59] These
cuts threaten access to health care for millions of Americans, including at
least 17 million Americans likely to lose their insurance.[60] The
Trump Administration also ramped up efforts to privatize Medicare by hiking
rates for Medicare Advantage plans.[61]
The fact that Trump,
Kennedy and their allies have taken so many dangerous and misguided actions on
health in just the early months of the new administration highlights the need
for vigilance and strong pushback from anyone who wants a better heath care system.
While our current health care system is fundamentally flawed, the reforms being
offered by Trump, Kennedy and their allies would serve to make things worse,
not better.
Advocates,
Members of Congress, and the Public Must Continue to be Vigilant Against the
Assaults on Health Care
The fight against further
damage to our health care system must continue while the case is also made for
the health care system the U.S. actually needs, one that ensures every American
can get the care they need when they need it.
Everyone has a role that
they can play. Members of Congress need to push for hearings on the brazen
actions of Trump’s health care nominees and demand accountability. This can be
done through things like letters to the administration demanding information on
what is taking place, asking tough questions when officials are testifying
before Congress, requesting that GAO investigate concerning actions taken by
executive branch agencies, and introducing legislation to shore up loopholes
that Trump nominees are using to make our system worse.
Health care groups and
advocates can fight back by digging into the actions being taken by the Trump
Administration and highlighting why they are dangerous and how they affect
working families and vulnerable populations. Reports, factsheets, and social media
can help everyday Americans understand what is happening and what the stakes
are in these fights. They can also help push elected officials to take
additional actions.
People across the country
also have a crucial role to play in pushing back on these dangerous actions.
Storytellers help the public and journalists understand how the Trump
Administration and Republicans in Congress are taking away needed services in
order to provide billionaires with tax breaks. Doctors, nurses, and other
providers can highlight how cuts in funding create challenges in serving
patients. And researchers can raise awareness of how cuts in funding are making
it challenging to undertake studies that make crucial scientific and medical
progress possible.
Sources
[1]Julie
Steenhuysen, Robert Kennedy Jr. Says Tapped by Trump to Head Vaccine
Safety Review, Reuters (January 10, 2017), http://bit.ly/4nfnboJ.
[2]Rebecca
Traister, RFK Jr’s Inside Job, New York Magazine (June 30,
2023), http://bit.ly/4k9RzOJ.
Christopher Wiggins, Poppers Cause AIDS, the
Environment Makes Boys Trans, Says Robert F. Kennedy Jr., The Advocate
(June 20, 2023), http://bit.ly/4eizCMv.
[3]Coming August 5th
– Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Interview, YouTube-MyTCNTV (viewed June 9,
2025), http://bit.ly/4lcEzIU.
Jon Levine, RFK Jr. Says COVID May Have Been
‘Ethnically Targeted’ to Spare Jews, New York Post (July 15, 2023), http://bit.ly/3HSevEE.
[4]Abby Turner and
Andrew Kaczynski, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Repeatedly Suggested that
Chemicals in Water are Impacting Sexuality of Children, CNN (July 13,
2023), http://bit.ly/40jYoGj.
Grace Abela, Luiz Romero, and Jill Terreri Ramos, No
Evidence Atrazine in the Water Supply is Causing More Kids to Identify as
Transgender, Politifact (June 28, 2023), http://bit.ly/4479EZb.
[5]Anjali Huynh and
Teddy Rosenbluth, 7 Noteworthy Falsehoods Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Has
Promoted, The New York Times (November 22, 2024), http://bit.ly/4kScQxo.
Lauren Weber, Lena H. Sun and David Ovalle, 10 RFK
Jr. Conspiracy Theories and False Claims, in His Own Words, The Washington
Post (November 15, 2024), http://bit.ly/4k3DIJA.
[6]TikTok Served Me
an RFK Town Hall, X.com-Jacob Rubashkin (viewed June 9, 2025), http://bit.ly/4k5Ltiu.
Brandy Zadrozny, RFK Jr. Comes ‘Home’ to His
Anti-vaccine Group, Commits to ‘a Break’ for U.S. Infectious Disease Research,
NBC News (November 3, 2023), http://bit.ly/3HS6L5E.
[7]Anna Merlan, Robert
F. Kennedy Jr. Reveals Plans to Fire 600 Federal Health Workers, Mother
Jones (November 12, 2024), http://bit.ly/3GfbzBv.
FDA’s War on Public Health is About to End,
X.com-Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (viewed June 12, 2025), http://bit.ly/4k4w4if.
Steve Benen, RFK Jr. Starts Fleshing Out His vision
for Trump’s Second Term, MSNBC (November 6, 2024), http://bit.ly/4ecL8cg.
[8]Jeneen Interlandi, Inside the
Collapse of the F.D.A., The New York Times (July 8, 2025), http://bit.ly/4nEIFf7.
[9]Steve Forbes, Medicare
Advantage For All Can Save Our Health-Care System, Forbes (June 11,
2020), https://bit.ly/4kWjLFS.
[10]Fred Schulte and Holly K. Hacker, The
Medicare Advantage Influence Machine, KFF Health News (September 30,
2024), http://bit.ly/40c90qJ.
[11]D.
Lipschutz, Ongoing Medicare Advantage Overpayments and Barriers to Care
Prompt More Congressional Interest in Oversight, Center for Medicare
Advocacy (October 31, 2024), http://bit.ly/43YSVqR.
[12]Christi
A. Grimm, Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector
General, Some Medicare Advantage Organization Denials of Prior Authorization
Requests Raise Concerns About Beneficiary Access to Medically Necessary Care
(April 2022), https://bit.ly/40jj1Ct.
[13]Fred
Schulte, As Seniors Get Sicker, They’re More Likely To Drop Medicare
Advantage Plans, NPR (July 5, 2017), http://bit.ly/3HWJNdB.
Jessica Farb, U.S. Government Accountability Office,
Medicare Advantage: Beneficiary Disenrollments to Fee-for-Service in Last Year
of Life Increase Medicare Spending (July 2021), http://bit.ly/43ZkvEn.
[14]Press
Release, Public Citizen, Private Insurers Bilked Taxpayers Out of More
than a Half-Trillion Dollars Between 2007 and 2023 (June
10,2024), http://bit.ly/40jEXNK.
[15]Press
Release, Public Citizen, Private Insurers Bilked Taxpayers Out of More
than a Half-Trillion Dollars Between 2007 and 2023 (June
10,2024), http://bit.ly/40jEXNK.
[16]New
Evidence Suggests Even Larger Medicare Advantage Overpayments, Committee
for a Responsible Federal Budget (July 17, 2023), http://bit.ly/44kJtwU.
[17]Gretchen
Morgenson, ‘Deny, Deny, Deny’: By Rejecting Claims, Medicare Advantage
Plans Threaten Rural Hospitals and Patients, Say CEOs, NBC News (October
31, 2023), http://bit.ly/3G2kd6t.
[18]Desmond
Butler, Lauren Weber and Caitlin Gilbert, Potential Conflicts of Interest
May Haunt Dr. Oz’s Confirmation to Run Medicare, Medicaid, The Washington
Post (December 2, 2024), http://bit.ly/45ErzaK.
Erin Mansfield, Dr. Mehmet Oz had up to $33 Million
in Companies Doing Business With Agency He’d Run, USA Today (December 13,
2024), http://bit.ly/3TG7TvG.
[19]Press
Release, Public Citizen, Dr. Oz Appears to Violate FTC Influencer
Marketing Rules with iHerb Social Media Ads (December 3, 2024), http://bit.ly/4llx5Dt.
[20]Dani
Blum, Emily Schmall and Nina Agrawal, Dr. Oz, Tapped to Run Medicare,
Has a Record of Promoting Health Misinformation, The New York Times
(December 1, 2024), http://bit.ly/45DvB2Z.
Desmond Butler, Lauren Weber and Caitlin Gilbert,
Potential Conflicts of Interest May Haunt Dr. Oz’s Confirmation to Run
Medicare, Medicaid, The Washington Post (December 2, 2024), http://bit.ly/45ErzaK.
[21]Reed
Abelson and Susanne Craig, Dr. Oz: How His Millions Collide With
Medicare, The New York Times (February 24, 2025), http://bit.ly/4lnFJBD.
[22]Chelsea Cirruzzo, John Wilkerson, and Daniel
Payne, How Dr. Oz Helped Seal the Deal on Trump’s Tax-cut Bill, Stat+
(July 2, 2025), http://bit.ly/3IkC6y3.
[23]Susanna Vogel, CMMI to Add Prior
Authorization for Some Medicare Services, Healthcare Dive (July 1,
2025), http://bit.ly/4kBPETp.
[24]Eagan
Kemp, Public Citizen, Jim O’Neill: Unfit to Be the #2 Health Care Leader in
America (December 2024), http://bit.ly/43XT11P.
[25]Sheila
Kaplan and Ike Swetlitz, Trump Considers Naming FDA Chief Who Would
Radically Overhaul the Agency, STAT+ (December 7, 2016), http://bit.ly/4kZm9vL.
Toward A New Investment Paradigm – Panel Discussion,
YouTube-SENS Research Foundation (viewed June 13, 2025), http://bit.ly/3TCbb35.
[26]Sheila
Kaplan and Ike Swetlitz, Trump Considers Naming FDA Chief Who Would
Radically Overhaul the Agency, STAT+ (December 7, 2016), http://bit.ly/4kZm9vL.
[27]Drew
Armstrong, Jennifer Jacobs, and Robert Langreth, Trump Team Said to
Consider Thiel Associate O’Neill for FDA, Bloomberg (December 7,
2016), http://bit.ly/3HUgAA2.
Alex Keown, Peter Thiel Touts Ally for Top Job at
the FDA or a Role at HHS, BioSpace (December 8,2016), http://bit.ly/3GcdYgk.
[28]Eagan
Kemp, Public Citizen, Promise and Peril: Artificial Intelligence in Health Care
(November 2024), http://bit.ly/4kQq0eo.
[29]Dan
Diamond, Jim O’Neill, Silicon Valley Investor, Favored for HHS Deputy
Secretary, The Washington Post (November 25, 2024), http://bit.ly/4ll6iaz.
[30]Jasmine
Laws, Casey Means’ Inactive Medical License Comes Under Scrutiny,
Newsweek (May 8, 2025), http://bit.ly/3HXVMaJ.
Jenny Jarvie, Trump’s Pick for Surgeon General Quit
Medical Residency Due to Stress, Former Department Chair Says, The Los
Angeles Times (May 8, 2025), http://bit.ly/45JG9xL.
[31]Katherine
Eban, “She Was Tearful About It”: The Nuances of Casey Means’s Medical
Exit and Antiestablishment Origins, Vanity Fair (May 9, 2025), http://bit.ly/44yaZbi.
[32]Katherine
Eban, “She Was Tearful About It”: The Nuances of Casey Means’s Medical
Exit and Antiestablishment Origins, Vanity Fair (May 9, 2025), http://bit.ly/44yaZbi.
[33]Alana
Semuels, Inside the Health Views of Casey Means, Trump’s Surgeon General
Nominee, Time (May 8, 2025), http://bit.ly/3TK0NWY.
[34]Isabella
Cueto, With Boost from RFK Jr. and Tucker Carlson, Two Chronic Disease
Entrepreneurs Vault Into Trump’s Orbit, STAT (October 7, 2024), http://bit.ly/4nps4vN.
[35]Alana
Semuels, Inside the Health Views of Casey Means, Trump’s Surgeon General
Nominee, Time (May 8, 2025), http://bit.ly/3TK0NWY.
[36]Casey
Means, MD, Levels, (viewed June 17, 2025), http://bit.ly/4lfQExc.
[37]As
of the time of writing, Means has yet to have her hearing before the Senate
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
[38]Carla
K. Johnson, Trump picks Jay Bhattacharya, Who Backed COVID Herd
Immunity, to Lead National Institutes of Health, AP News (November 27,
2024), http://bit.ly/4nhwXqD.
Erik De La Garza, ‘Cancel Culture’ Colleges Could
Soon See Money Targeted by Trump’s NIH Pick: Report, Raw Story (December 6,
2024), http://bit.ly/4ejEYas.
[39]Carla
K. Johnson, Trump picks Jay Bhattacharya, Who Backed COVID Herd
Immunity, to Lead National Institutes of Health, AP News (November 27,
2024), http://bit.ly/4nhwXqD.
Jonathan Howard, Every Time Dr. Jay Bhattacharya
Talks About COVID, He Proves He Was Totally Wrong About COVID,
Science-Based Medicine (April 7, 2024), http://bit.ly/442WnRm.
[40]Eric
Boodman, On Path to Likely Confirmation as NIH Director, Bhattacharya
Toes the Party Line, STAT+ (March 5, 2025), http://bit.ly/3ZIccu8.
[41]Allison
DeAngelis et al., ‘We Dodged a Bullet’: Biotech and Pharma React to
Selection of Marty Makary for FDA Commissioner, STAT+ (November 23,
2024), http://bit.ly/3GfTvXV.
David Lim and Lauren Gardner, Makary for FDA. Here’s
What You Need to Know., Politico Prescription Pulse (November 26,
2024), http://bit.ly/3G5PJk2.
[42]Sydney
Lupkin, 5 Takeaways from the Confirmation Hearing for Trump’s FDA
Nominee, NPR (March 6, 2025), http://bit.ly/44gbYf1.
Lizzy Lawrence, FDA Chief Pushes Back on Senators’
Criticism, Says Covid Booster Trials Should Take ‘Roughly a Year,’ STAT+
(May 22, 2025), http://bit.ly/3HWPdoU.
[43]Letter
from Public Citizen and allied groups to U.S. Senators Opposing Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. for HHS Secretary, U.S. Senate (January 24, 2025), http://bit.ly/3ZKm2vt.
[44]Eagan
Kemp, Public Citizen, The Not So Great Oz (December 2024), http://bit.ly/3ZPMtQq.
[45]Press
Release, Public Citizen, Seventy-Five Organizations Call on Senators To
Oppose Dr. Oz for CMS (February 20, 2025), http://bit.ly/4ejTj6J.
[46]Letter
from Public Citizen and allied groups to U.S. Senators Opposing Jim O’Neill for
HHS deputy Secretary, U.S. Senate (March 2024), http://bit.ly/4k5Kj6o.
[47]Public
Citizen, Jim O’Neill: Unfit to Be the #2 Health Care Leader in America (March
2024), http://bit.ly/3GjA8gF.
[48]Bob
Herman, Trump Fired the Top HHS Watchdog. She Says the Future of Health
Care Oversight is Grim if Partisanship Wins Out, STAT (April 11,
2025), http://bit.ly/4nkGRrw.
[49]Andrew
Joseph et al., Inside U.S. Health Agencies, Workers Confront Chaos and
Questions as Operations Come Unglued, STAT+ (April 11, 2025), http://bit.ly/45Ankgi.
[50]Andrew
Joseph et al., Inside U.S. Health Agencies, Workers Confront Chaos and
Questions as Operations Come Unglued, STAT+ (April 11, 2025), http://bit.ly/45Ankgi.
Erin Schumaker, Carmen Paun, and Ruth Reader, The
Downside of RIFs at NIH, Politico (April 11, 2025), http://bit.ly/44jjwxs.
[51]Tina
Reed, A Closer Look at the Nationwide Impact of NIH Cuts, Axios
(April 9, 2025), http://bit.ly/44h2lga.
Tabitha Mueller, Nevada Senator Demands Answers
After DOGE-led Cuts to State Health Care Grants, The Nevada Independent
(April 11, 2025), http://bit.ly/46lwP34.
[52]Maya Goldman, Doctors Sue Trump
Administration Over Removed Health Data, Axios (February 4, 2025), http://bit.ly/46p5b5C.
[53]Jessica
Glenza, RFK Jr Says His Response to Measles Outbreak Should be ‘Model
for the World,’ The Guardian (April 9, 2025), http://bit.ly/4kURyiR.
[54]Rob
Stein, White House Orders NIH to Research Trans ‘Regret’ and
‘Detransition,’ NPR (April 11, 2025), http://bit.ly/44mgrgm.
[55]Nathaniel
Weixel, RFK Jr. Ends COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendation for Healthy
Children, Pregnant Women, The Hill (May 27, 2025), http://bit.ly/4lsbbPb.
[56]Lauren
Weber and Caitlin Gilbert, White House MAHA Report May have Garbled
Science by Using AI, Experts Say, The Washington Post (May 29, 2025), http://bit.ly/46hbFDf.
[57]Apoorva Mandavilli, Vaccine
Panel Gutted by Kennedy Loses a Member Ahead of First Meeting, The New York
Times (June 24, 2025), http://bit.ly/40GjPRZ.
Kelly Hooper, Cassidy Criticizes RFK Jr.’s Vaccine
Advisers, Politico (June 23, 2025), http://bit.ly/4eMJvCu.
[58]Helen Branswell, RFK Jr. Ends Covid
Vaccine Recommendations for Healthy Children, Pregnant People, Stat (May
27, 2025), http://bit.ly/46OiUmv.
[59]Andrew
J. Campa, Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ has Been Signed into Law. What
Does that Mean?, Los Angeles Times (July 6, 2025), http://bit.ly/4lQYWfn.
Lauren Aratani, ‘Fiscally Irresponsible’: Trump’s
‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Benefits the Rich at the Expense of the Poor, The
Guardian (May 24, 2025), http://bit.ly/4kXZiAt.
Kiera Peoples and Katherine Gallagher Robbins, National
Partnership for Women & Families, Republican’s Proposed Medicaid Cuts Would
Harm Women Veterans (May 2025), http://bit.ly/44qJXBI.
David Lipschutz, Center for Medicare Advocacy
Statement on Proposed Massive Medicaid Cuts, Center for Medicare Advocacy
(May 15, 2025), http://bit.ly/40suJuA.
[60]Al
Jazeera Staff, When Will Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Take Effect?
Here’s What Comes Next, Al Jazeera (July 4, 2025), http://bit.ly/4lOh6yj.
[61]Rebecca
Pifer, Trump’s CMS Dramatically Raises Payments to Medicare Advantage
Plans, Healthcare Dive (April 8, 2025), http://bit.ly/4et9crm.
