Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Administration Ordered To Quickly Pay Billions In Foreign Aid
AP: Judge Gives Trump Administration Two Days To Release Billions Of Dollars In Blocked Foreign Aid
A federal judge on Tuesday gave the Trump administration less than two days to release billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid, saying the administration had given no sign of complying with his nearly two-week-old court order to ease its funding freeze. The lawsuit was filed by nonprofit organizations over the cutoff of foreign assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development and State Department, which followed a Jan. 20 executive order by President Donald Trump targeting what he portrayed as wasteful programs that do not correspond to his foreign policy goals. (Knickmeyer and Kunzelman, 2/26)
Stat: USAID Freeze Halts Effort To Develop HIV Vaccine In Africa
Last month, researchers in South Africa were preparing to administer two experimental HIV vaccines in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The staff was trained, immunizations were ready, and participant screening had begun. Then, they received a stop-work order: The $45 million in funding from USAID to support the project was frozen under a 90-day review — and could be withdrawn completely. (MacPhail, 2/26)
The New York Times: What Will Become of U.S.A.I.D.’s Funding? A Billionaire’s Son Has Some Ideas.
A former Goldman Sachs analyst and son of a private equity billionaire has ambitions to control some of U.S.A.I.D.’s roughly $40 billion budget and apply more of a “pro-market” approach to supporting development in other countries. Benjamin Black, 40, has been nominated by President Trump to run the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, a little-known agency that invests and lends billions each year to companies and projects overseas. (Goldstein and Farrell, 2/26)
More from the federal government —
Stat: CDC Will No Longer Process Transgender Data
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer process transgender identity data in order to comply with President Trump’s executive order, agency representative Melissa Dibble told STAT on Tuesday. Sexual orientation data is unaffected and “will be processed per usual protocols,” Dibble added. (Gaffney, 2/25)
The New York Times: C.D.C. Suggests Terms Like ‘Health Equity’ Are Off-Limits, Then Backtracks
The latest battle erupted on Monday, inside the domain of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., when employees of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received an email instructing them to avoid using more than a dozen “key words" when writing annual goals for performance evaluations. The disfavored terms, according to copies of the email reviewed by The New York Times, included “health equity,” “race,” “bias,” “disparity,” “culturally appropriate” and “stereotype.” (2/26)
AP: DOGE Staffers Resign En Masse To Protest Musk's Slashing Of Federal Government
More than 20 civil service employees resigned Tuesday from billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying they were refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services.” “We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the 21 staffers wrote in a joint resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.” (Slodysko and Tau, 2/25)
The New York Times: She Lobbied For Formaldehyde. Now She’s At E.P.A. Approving New Chemicals.
Lynn Dekleva, who recently took a senior role at the agency, once led an aggressive effort by industry to block regulations on formaldehyde. (Tabuchi, 2/26)
On immigration and health —
The Washington Post: Trump Administration Says Undocumented Migrants Must Register
The Trump administration will require all unauthorized immigrants in the United States who are 14 and older to register with the federal government or face civil and criminal penalties, including up to $1,000 in fines and up to six months in prison. (Sacchetti, 2/25)
KFF Health News: Health Clinic Workers Brush Up On Constitutional Protections As Immigration Raids Loom
The lobby at this St. John’s Community Health clinic in South Los Angeles bustles with patients. But community health worker Ana Ruth Varela is worried that it’s about to get a lot quieter. Many patients, she said, are afraid to leave their homes. “The other day I spoke with one of the patients. She said: ‘I don’t know. Should I go to my appointment? Should I cancel? I don’t know what to do.’ And I said, ‘Just come.’ ”Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, fear of mass deportations carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has gripped immigrant communities. (Fortiér, 2/26)
In military health news —
AP: Fired Cybersecurity Chief For Veterans Affairs Site Says Data Is At Risk
Sensitive financial and health data belonging to millions of veterans and stored on a benefits website is at risk of being stolen or otherwise compromised, according to a federal employee tasked with cybersecurity who was recently fired as part of massive government-wide cuts. The warning comes from Jonathan Kamens, who led cybersecurity efforts for VA.gov — an online portal for Department of Veterans Affairs benefits and services used by veterans, their caregivers and families. (Witte and Ngowi, 2/25)
The War Horse: Nonprofit Launches Burn Pit Registry For Civilian Military Contractors
Despite facing many of the same risks service members do, military contractors have little in the way of support or resources when they return home. A new organization launching this month aims to change that. The Association of War Zone Contractors is the first nonprofit dedicated to organizing and advocating for the hundreds thousands of contractors the U.S. relies on in its overseas operations. Like generations of veterans before who have come home from battle, scarred physically and psychologically, and pushed for better care, the group hopes to draw attention — and eventually resources — to support contractors as they increasingly bear the costs of war. (Kehrt, 2/25)
