Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
DOGE Has Been Disbanded, Feds Say, But Effect On CDC Continues To Linger
Reuters: Exclusive: DOGE 'Doesn't Exist' With Eight Months Left On Its Charter
President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has disbanded with eight months left to its mandate, ending an initiative launched with fanfare as a symbol of Trump's pledge to slash the government's size but which critics say delivered few measurable savings. "That doesn't exist," Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when asked about DOGE's status. (Rozen, 11/24)
The Center for Law and Social Policy: Tracking The Harm Of DOGE Cuts
The Center for Law and Social Policy's DOGE Tracker shows how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bore the brunt of cuts. (11/24)
Newsweek: DOGE Is Dead: What Did It Actually Save?
According to its website, DOGE terminated 13,440 contracts, 15,887 grants and 264 leases—estimates that have fluctuated dramatically over its 10-month existence. DOGE was also the driving force behind many of the headcount reductions made within the federal government this year. In a blog post on Friday, OPM Director Kupor said the government had hired around 68,000 people in 2025, with some 317,000 employees having departed. (11/24)
In CDC news —
Stat: CDC Moves To Ends Telework For Employees, Including Those With Medical Needs
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has ended full-time telework agreements for reasonable accommodations for many employees, according to multiple employees familiar with the policy. Supervisors in some centers have been told in recent days that they can no longer approve temporary 90-day agreements for full-time telework, even requiring people with existing agreements to come into the office. (Broderick, 11/21)
CIDRAP: While No One Was Watching: Tenuous Status Of CDC Prion Unit, Risk Of CWD To People Worry Scientists
Nine months ago, Janie Johnston, 73, left her home in the Chicago suburbs to drive to her doctor's office for routine care. She made it as far as the side of the street opposite the clinic but couldn't figure out how to get there, so she returned home, where she struggled to remember the abbreviation "GPS." That was the first sign that something was seriously wrong. Soon, the semi-retired geologist couldn't speak in full sentences or feed herself. Within 2 months, the woman who had been reviewing proposals for the National Science Foundation in the weeks leading up to symptom onset was dead of a terrifying neurological disease her family had never heard of: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). (Van Beusekom, 11/21)
More administration news on the EPA and FDA —
The Washington Post: EPA Moves To Approve New ‘Forever Chemical’ Pesticides
The Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward with approvals for pesticides containing “forever chemicals” as an active ingredient, dismissing concerns about health and environmental impacts raised by some scientists and activists. This month, the agency approved two new pesticides that meet the internationally recognized definition for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or fluorinated substances, and has announced plans for four additional approvals. The authorized pesticides, cyclobutrifluram and isocycloseram, which was approved Thursday, will be used on vegetables such as romaine lettuce, broccoli and potatoes. (Ajasa, 11/22)
Politico: The White House Has Asked For The Resignation Of A Top Aide To FDA Chief
The White House on Thursday emailed HHS leadership asking for the resignation of a top aide to FDA Commissioner Marty Makary whom he had sought to promote, according to two administration officials granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive personnel matter. Makary pushed back on the request to force policy and research staffer Sanjula Jain-Nagpal out of the agency, officials told POLITICO. (Gardner, 11/21)
The Washington Post: New Top FDA Drug Regulator Raises Legal Concerns About Expediting Approvals
The newly installed top U.S. drug regulator has raised concerns about the legality and pace of initiatives to expedite drug decisions, arguing they could threaten Americans’ safety, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail private deliberations. Richard Pazdur, an oncologist and longtime Food and Drug Administration official who was announced for his new role on Nov. 11, has questioned several plans developed by FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, warning that they could pose a risk to public health, the people said. (Diamond and Roubein, 11/21)
