Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Senate Health Committee Sets Key Vote For Heidi Overton's FDA Nomination
Stat: Committee Vote Set For Heidi Overton, FDA Commissioner Nominee
The Senate health committee has scheduled a pivotal vote for next week on the nomination of Heidi Overton to serve as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration — despite lingering doubts from Republicans on the panel. (Manto, 11/11)
The Hill: Senator Bill Cassidy Remains Undecided On Dr. Heidi Overton's FDA Nomination
The Senate Health Committee scheduled a key vote next week for Dr. Heidi Overton to serve as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), even as her path forward is not assured. According to a committee press release, the vote on Overton’s nomination is scheduled for Nov. 18. The committee will also vote on James O’Neill’s nomination to serve as director of the National Science Foundation. (Weixel, 11/11)
Politico: Former FDA Head Accuses Trump Aides Of Bowing To Industry
Former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary on Tuesday backed up a former White House adviser’s criticisms about industry influence over the administration’s health care policies. “A lot of pressure from White House and HHS aides was not on medical cures or healthy food but instead on getting more vapes approved and catering to lobbyists,” Makary told POLITICO. “Americans don’t want their kids smoking strawberry banana vapes — they want a government that stands up to corruption.” (Gardner and Cai, 11/11)
More news about the Trump administration —
AP: Millions May Lose Food Aid As Trump Administration Closes SNAP Loophole
President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to make it harder to get food aid through the federal government’s big grocery assistance program that serves about 1 in 10 Americans. The administration says the proposed rule would close a loophole by no longer allowing some people who receive benefits under the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to automatically qualify for the separate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program too. (Mulvihill and Lieb, 11/11)
ProPublica: How Trump’s Dismantling Of The VA Left A Veterans Hospital In Crisis
This was not normal. But nothing had been normal at East Orange since President Donald Trump returned to office last year and set his sights on the VA. The behemoth agency, which traces its roots to the Civil War, is both the country’s largest healthcare system and one of its most effective. It provides 9 million veterans what is essentially socialized medicine, often for free, under the cover of the American flag. The doctors, nurses and other staff are employed by the government. (Umansky and Jacobs, 11/11)
The New York Times: Trump-Era Funding Cuts Driving Young Scientists From U.S. Research
Under Trump, new Ph.D. enrollments are down, funding is on the decline and many budding researchers are reconsidering their careers. (Miller, Patel, Adelson and Hwang, 11/9)
Politico: Calley Means Accuses Susie Wiles Of Interfering In Hemp Policy
A former senior adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says Susie Wiles played a prominent role in steering the White House’s hemp policy stance — which has led to a delay for a pending ban on intoxicating hemp products. Calley Means has accused Wiles, the recently departed White House chief of staff, of doing industry’s bidding to help ultraprocessed food, e-cigarette and pesticide makers to the detriment of public health. He told POLITICO that the hemp pressure campaign is yet another example. (Friedman, 11/10)
Politico: Stephen Miller’s Appointment Energizes RFK Jr. And His MAHA Allies
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again devotees are setting sky-high expectations for the White House now that Stephen Miller is running the show there. Since President Donald Trump named Miller to replace Susie Wiles as his chief of staff, Kennedy and his supporters have celebrated Miller as a steadfast ally. “Next to me, Stephen Miller is the strongest MAHA supporter in the administration,” Kennedy wrote on social media platform X on Friday. “It’s time to unleash the Kraken.” If Kennedy’s right, it would be quite the comeback. (Paun and Chu, 11/11)
On the immigration crisis —
AP: Immigration Arrests Go On Unabated After GOP's Midterm Wipeout
It’s business as usual for President Donald Trump’s deportation offensive despite the Republican wipeout in the midterm elections. In Los Angeles, masked immigration officers in body armor blocked a hospital emergency room driveway in a heavily Latino neighborhood early Saturday. In central Alabama, twin 19-year-old brothers from Venezuela were arrested while driving back to college a day after the election. (Gonzalez and Sullivan, 11/11)
The New York Times: A Beloved Nurse Was Arrested, Shackled And Hidden In ICE’s System
Ann Lawani, a highly regarded nurse and professor, was still in her pajamas when federal agents detained her at her home in Lodi, Calif., on Sept. 16. She placed a call that day to family from a nearby holding facility. After that, however, her siblings and lawyer could not find her in a public database that shows where detainees are being held. They got no answers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Ms. Lawani had simply vanished. (Jordan, 11/10)
The New York Times: San Antonio Fights Plan To Turn Warehouse Into ICE Detention Center
With roughly seven weeks until a Democratic majority takes over Congress, San Antonio is using a lawsuit to stall the Trump administration’s plan to turn a warehouse into a detention center for 1,500 immigrants. Representative Joaquin Castro, a Democrat who represents part of the city, hopes the party’s new majority in Congress can block the project for good when it takes power in January. (Sandoval, 11/12)
