All Of USAID’s International Workforce Will Be Eliminated By Sept. 30: Report
In a cable sent Tuesday and obtained by The Guardian, the State Department said it will “assume responsibility for foreign assistance programming previously undertaken by USAID” starting June 15. Plus: What NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya told a Senate panel Tuesday about recent budget cuts.
The Guardian:
Trump Administration To Cut All USAID Overseas Roles In Dramatic Restructuring
The Trump administration will eliminate all USAID overseas positions worldwide by Sept. 30 in a dramatic restructuring of remaining US foreign aid operations. In a Tuesday state department cable obtained by the Guardian, secretary of state Marco Rubio ordered the abolishment of the agency’s entire international workforce, transferring control of foreign assistance programs directly to the state department. (Gedeon and Tait, 6/10)
The Hill:
Senators Grill NIH Director In Budget Hearing: 4 Takeaways
National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya faced questions from senators during an Appropriations subcommittee hearing Tuesday, as the federal government agency has taken hits to its staffing levels and grant-making ability since under President Trump. Senators focused on the Trump administration’s requested 2026 budget, which calls for cutting NIH’s funding by $18 billion from 2025 levels. (O’Connell-Domenech, 6/10)
CNN:
Research Cuts Pose ‘Existential Threat’ To Academic Medicine And Put Nation’s Health At Risk, New Report Says
Federal research funding cuts pose an “existential threat” to academic medicine that will have repercussions for patient care in the US, according to a new report from the Association of American Medical Colleges, highlighting what it calls significant damage already done to the nation. (Koda, 6/11)
On MAHA and RFK Jr. —
CBS News:
HHS Budget Proposal Eliminates CDC's Chronic Disease, Global Health Centers In Favor Of New "MAHA" Agency
The Department of Health and Human Services' budget request for the 2026 fiscal year consolidates the department's 28 divisions to 15 to make way for a new "institution of public health." The new agency, the Administration for a Healthy America, has a $20.6 billion budget designed to support Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" agenda. That includes taking over — and significantly reducing — funds for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's chronic disease and global health centers along with some of the institutes that are currently part of the National Institutes of Health. (Gold and Ingram, 6/10)
Stat:
RFK Jr. Needs Congress To Help Create New MAHA Agency
The new agency at the center of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s agenda is hitting its first hurdle: Congress. (Payne, Cueto and Cirruzzo, 6/11)
AP:
Top RFK Jr. Aide Attacks US Health System While Running Company That Promotes Wellness Alternatives
Calley Means has built a following within the “Make America Healthy Again” movement by railing against the failings of the U.S. health system, often pinning the blame on one issue: corruption. Means, a top aide to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was hired as a White House adviser in March. He has used that perch to attack the nation’s leading physician groups, federal agencies and government scientists, claiming they only protect their own interests in the nation’s $4.9 trillion-a-year industry. (Perrone, 6/10)
Politico:
There’s One Vice RFK Jr. Isn’t Talking About
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made it his mission to remind Americans that they need to get off the couch and lay off the junk food. But there’s one vice he’s not talking about: smoking. That’s troubled anti-smoking activists, researchers who focus on the diseases tobacco causes and Democrats in Congress who point out that smoking, despite a marked decline in recent years, still leads to more preventable deaths than anything else. (Nguyen and Lim, 6/10)
In related news —
Stat:
Texas Considers MAHA-Style Warning Labels On Popular Foods
Europe’s comparatively cautious approach to food additives is the envy of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again movement. A Texas bill now before Gov. Greg Abbott aims to help close the gap by slapping warning labels on foods that contain any of 44 additives and dyes. (Todd, 6/11)
