Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
RFK Jr. Unveils $100M Faith-Based Plan To Stem 'Spiritual Disease' Of Addiction
The New York Times: H.H.S. To Expand Faith-Based Addiction Programs For Homeless
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Monday that the federal government would expand funding for faith-based addiction treatment as a response to mounting public drug use and homelessness in American cities. Mr. Kennedy, who credits 12-step programs with helping him end a 14-year heroin addiction as a young man, said a fragmented health care system had encouraged people with mental illness and addiction to “cycle endlessly between sidewalks, emergency room visits, jails and mental hospitals and shelters.” (Barry, 2/2)
More on RFK Jr. and MAHA —
The Hill: Gavin Newsom Leads Resistance To RFK Jr.’s Public Health Upheaval
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is making California the front line in the resistance to the Trump administration’s revamped health care policies under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in what experts see as a politically savvy move that previews what a “Balkanized” public health landscape could look like as states lose faith in federal agencies. Throughout 2025, California was at the center of state-level efforts to depart from new public health guidance coming from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Kennedy, primarily those having to do with infectious diseases and vaccines. (Choi, 2/2)
Stat: As U.S. Moves To Cut Animal Testing, Focus May Turn To Import Restrictions
Over the past year, the Trump administration has moved to reduce reliance on animal testing in scientific research at federal agencies and among researchers who rely on federal funding. But some animal welfare activists have pushed the administration to go further, suspending primate imports for research purposes entirely. (Silverman, 2/3)
AP: MAHA Has Reshaped Health Policy. Now It's Working On Environmental Rules
On New Year’s Eve, Lee Zeldin did something out of character for an Environmental Protection Agency leader who has been hacking away at regulations intended to protect Americans’ air and water. He announced new restrictions on five chemicals commonly used in building materials, plastic products and adhesives, and he cheered it as a “MAHA win.” (Govindarao, Swenson and Phillis, 2/3)
On the NIH and FDA —
The New York Times: N.I.H. Worker Who Criticized Trump Seeks Whistle-Blower Protection
The National Institutes of Health employee behind The Bethesda Declaration, a scathing public critique of the Trump administration’s cuts to biomedical research, sought federal whistle-blower protections on Monday, saying her superiors had retaliated against her by putting her on “nondisciplinary administrative leave.” The employee, Jenna Norton, a program director at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, was put on paid leave after the 43-day government shutdown ended in November. The complaint asks for “appropriate compensatory damages,” and for Dr. Norton to be reinstated. (Gay Stolberg, 2/2)
KFF Health News: NIH Grant Disruptions Slow Down Breast Cancer Research
Inside a cancer research laboratory on the campus of Harvard Medical School, two dozen small jars with pink plastic lids sat on a metal counter. Inside these humble-looking jars is the core of Joan Brugge’s current multiyear research project. Brugge lifted up one of the jars and gazed at it with reverence. Each jar holds samples of breast tissue donated by patients after they underwent a tissue biopsy or breast surgery — samples that may reveal a new way to prevent breast cancer. Brugge and her research team have analyzed the cell structure of more than 100 samples. (Bebinger, 2/3)
Bloomberg: Senior FDA Official Samuel Doran Under Investigation Over Divorce, Assets
The US health department’s inspector general is investigating whether a top US Food and Drug Administration official misled the federal government by using a sham divorce to avoid running afoul of conflict-of-interest rules, people familiar with the investigation said. At issue is the relationship between Samuel Doran, the FDA’s deputy chief of staff, and his former wife, a general partner at a venture capital firm that invests in some health-related startups. The couple divorced last year, legal filings show. (Gorrivan, Griffin and Langreth, 2/3)
On Medicaid cuts and coverage —
The Hill: Planned Parenthood Drops Challenge Over Trump Administration Medicaid Cuts
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) has filed to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit against the Trump administration that sought to challenge the decision to cut off Medicaid funding to abortion providers. The PPFA on Friday filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. The organization filed its lawsuit in July of last year after President Trump signed the GOP’s budget reconciliation bill, which included a section that disallowed federal funding from going to abortion providers. (Choi, 2/2)
KFF Health News: If You’re Pregnant And Uninsured, Medicaid Might Be Your Answer
When she noticed an unusual craving for hot dogs, Matte’a Brooks suspected her body was telling her something, so she decided to take a pregnancy test. She took two just to be sure. Both were positive. “I was definitely scared,” said Brooks, 23, who was uninsured. “I was like, OK … I’m pregnant, so where do I go from here?” Until then she hadn’t thought much about health care, but that changed when she found out that her daughter was on the way. (Farmer, Anthony and Siner, 2/3)
The latest on the federal shutdown —
Politico: House GOP Moves To Tee Up Passage Of Shutdown-Ending Package
House Republican leaders are sending the Senate-passed $1.2 trillion funding package back to the House floor — along with 10 days of funding for the Department of Homeland Security — to buy Congress time to negotiate whether to place new guardrails on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement activities. The House Rules Committee voted Monday night to set up floor action on the government funding package that has boomeranged between the two chambers and would end the partial government shutdown that began Saturday. (Tully-McManus and Scholtes, 2/2)
