Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
RFK Jr. Touts Liver, Cheap Cuts Of Meat To Meet Updated Dietary Guidelines
The Hill: RFK Jr. Suggests Buying Liver Or 'Cheap Cuts' Instead Of Steak
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday suggested people eat liver or “cheap cuts” in response to the high cost of beef. “This is true all over the country. There’s a lot of good food in grocery stores that goes away. Most of the cheap cuts of meat are very inexpensive,” Kennedy said at an event hosted by MAHA Action, a political action committee dedicated to supporting the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. “If you buy, you know, a porterhouse steak, it’s going to, it is going to take you back. You can buy liver or the cheaper cuts of steak that are very, very affordable,” he added. (Choi, 2/27)
The Hill: Kennedy Addresses Glyphosate Concerns With Joe Rogan
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an interview that aired Friday that President Trump’s order bolstering the controversial herbicide glyphosate was “not something that I was particularly happy with.” Kennedy’s remarks to podcaster Joe Rogan departed somewhat from his previous defense of Trump’s move — though the Health secretary also expressed sympathy for the president’s position. (Frazin, 2/27)
On MAHA and the surgeon general nominee —
The Hill: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski Undecided On Trump Surgeon General Pick Casey Means
President Trump’s choice to serve as surgeon general has not cobbled together enough votes to win confirmation as a pair of centrist Senate Republicans have yet to give her their support. Casey Means, the nominee for the position, is facing an uphill climb to make it through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee after an at-times contentious confirmation hearing Wednesday. (Weaver, 2/27)
More on the Trump administration —
The Wall Street Journal: Turmoil Takes Hold At CDC As Top Officials Keep Leaving
Facing continued upheaval at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jay Bhattacharya, the new acting director, arrived at its Atlanta headquarters last week to steady the ship. Bhattacharya, who is also the head of the National Institutes of Health, might not be there long: The administration intends to nominate a new CDC director in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter said, marking its first effort to permanently fill the role since last summer and a string of leadership changes at the nation’s top health agency. (Siddiqui, Calfas and Essley Whyte, 3/1)
AP: Trump Administration Is Holding Children In Immigration Detention For Months
A month after ICE agents sent the young Ecuadorian mother and her 7-year-old daughter to a sprawling detention center 1,300 miles from their Minnesota home, they were finally free. But when the bus pulled up to a migrant shelter in the border city of Laredo, dropping off a half-dozen families lugging bags stuffed with belongings, the stress of recent weeks tracked mother and daughter like the long shadows on that mid-February afternoon. (Burke, Geller and Gonzalez, 2/28)
KFF Health News: KFF Health News’ ‘On Air’: ICE, ALS, Addiction Medicine, And Robotic Ultrasounds: Journalists Sound Off On All That And More
KFF Health News Southern California correspondent Claudia Boyd-Barrett discussed how family members and lawyers of those in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody are struggling to find them in California hospitals on CapRadio’s Insight With Vicki Gonzalez on Feb. 25. (2/28)
Also —
CNN: Austin Mass Shooting May Have Been Motivated By Iran Strikes, Officials Say. Here’s What We Know
In the early hours of Sunday morning, as a bar in a busy nightlife district of Austin, Texas, prepared to close for the night, patrons and staff were startled by the sound of gunshots. Armed with a pistol and a rifle, a man opened fire from outside the venue on the city’s bustling Sixth Street, killing two people and wounding 14 others, according to the Austin Police Department and the FBI’s San Antonio Division. It’s among at least 56 mass shootings in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. (Mujsa and Park, 3/2)
