Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
American Academy Of Pediatrics Wins Back $12 Million In Grants — For Now
The Hill: Federal Judge Orders HHS To Restore $12m In Funding To American Academy Of Pediatrics
A federal judge late Sunday ordered the Trump administration to restore nearly $12 million in grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), after the organization’s funding was abruptly cut last month. Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a preliminary injunction that will restore the grants and block the cuts from taking effect while the case proceeds. Howell concluded that the Department of Health and Human Services had a likely “retaliatory motive” for the terminations, due to the AAP’s outspoken opposition to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Weixel, 1/12)
In related news about federal funding cuts —
AP: The Trevor Project Receives $45M From MacKenzie Scott After Difficult Years And Federal Funding Cuts
The Trevor Project, known for its hotline for LGBTQ+ youth, received $45 million from billionaire and author MacKenzie Scott at the end of 2025, the organization said Monday. The gift is the largest in the organization’s history but also a major boon following years of management turmoil, layoffs and the loss of significant federal funding over the summer. “I literally could not believe it and it took some time. I actually gasped,” said Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, when they were notified of Scott’s gift. (Beaty, 1/12)
Fierce Biotech: Flagship CEO Warns Trump Admin Is 'Undoing' Scientific Method
The Trump administration spent 2025 taking a sledgehammer to science, obliterating funding and reshaping agencies like the FDA and the National Institutes of Health through layoffs and restrictive new policies. In a new letter, Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., co-founder of Moderna and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, warns that these actions risk undermining the foundations of science itself to the ultimate detriment of health and biotech innovation in America. “Skepticism is an important part of the scientific method. Debate about approaches and outcomes is central to how science works,” Afeyan wrote in the Jan. 12 letter. “But what we are seeing is skepticism that has curdled into an across-the-board, corrosive doubt in the scientific method itself.” (Incorvaia, 1/12)
More health news from the Trump administration —
The New York Times: E.P.A. To Stop Considering Lives Saved By Limiting Air Pollution
For decades, the Environmental Protection Agency has calculated the health benefits of reducing air pollution, using the cost estimates of avoided asthma attacks and premature deaths to justify clean-air rules. Not anymore. Under President Trump, the E.P.A. plans to stop tallying gains from the health benefits caused by curbing two of the most widespread deadly air pollutants, fine particulate matter and ozone, when regulating industry, according to internal agency emails and documents reviewed by The New York Times. (Joselow, 1/12)
ProPublica: We Found More Than 40 Cases of Immigration Agents Using Banned Chokeholds and Other Moves That Can Cut Off Breathing
Civilians have had apparent seizures. One had his eyes roll back. Another had ribs broken. “I felt like I was going to pass out and die,” said a 16-year-old citizen put in a chokehold. The government won’t say if any agents have been punished. (Foy and Funk, 1/13)
KFF Health News: This California Strategy Safeguarded Some Medicaid Social Services Funding From Trump
When Virginia Guevara moved into a studio apartment in California’s Orange County in 2024 after nearly a decade of homelessness, she needed far more than a roof and a bed. Scattered visits to free clinics notwithstanding, Guevara hadn’t had a full medical checkup in years. She required dental work. She wanted to start looking for a job. And she was overwhelmed by the maze of paperwork needed simply to get her off the street, much less to make any of the other things happen. (Kreidler, 1/13)
