CNN: Senate Votes To Confirm Pam Bondi As Attorney General
The Senate voted Tuesday night to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general, making the tenacious litigator the latest official to help fill out President Donald Trump’s administration. The vote was 54-46. Bondi is known for her battles in court for conservative causes. (Shelton and Rimmer, 2/4)

More on Pam Bondi, in case you missed it —

Time: Trump's Cabinet Will Have These Powers Over Abortion
While serving as Florida’s attorney general, Pam Bondi supported restrictions on abortion, such as mandatory waiting periods. And during her Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 15, Bondi said she has “always been pro-life.” ... Experts say she could take steps to restrict abortion access through the Comstock Act, a 19th century anti-obscenity law. Under the Biden Administration, the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel released a letter reaffirming that the law doesn’t ban the mailing, delivery, or receipt of legal medication abortion, although anti-abortion activists expressed interest in using the law to do so. Under Bondi’s leadership, the DOJ could withdraw the Biden-era memo without issuing a new one. (Lee, 1/22)

On Veterans Affairs —

AP: Doug Collins Confirmed As Trump's Veterans Affairs Secretary
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Doug Collins as secretary of veterans affairs, putting the former congressman and Iraq War veteran at the helm of a department that provides crucial care to America’s veterans. Collins, a former Air Force chaplain, was confirmed on a 77-23 vote, becoming the latest addition to President Donald Trump’s Cabinet. (Brown, 2/4)

Military.Com: Thousands Of Marines Booted For Refusing COVID-19 Vaccine Get Messaged About Returning
Thousands of Marines who were separated from the military for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine got messages from the service informing them of President Donald Trump's Jan. 27 executive order, which seeks to reinstate them into the armed forces with their previous rank and backpay should they decide to return. However, the specifics on what that return to service would look like were not clear as of Tuesday. Despite the messages going out starting on Jan. 30, the Marine Corps could not answer questions related to what type of service obligation those troops might incur if they decide to come back, what benefits they might receive or if they will be required to forgo compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs as a requirement. (Lawrence and Toropin, 2/4)

On birth rates and the Transportation Department —

Bloomberg: Department Of Transportation Memos Tie Funding To Birth Rate, Marriage Policy
Places with higher marriage and birth rates should get preference for federal transportation grants and initiatives, according to a set of US Department of Transportation memos. The policies, released one day after Sean Duffy was sworn in as Department of Transportation head, also seek to carry out President Donald Trump’s agenda by ending support for projects that involve climate change, or racial and gender inequality. (Pierre-Louis, 2/4)

Stat: RFK Jr. Likely To Be HHS Secretary After Winning Cassidy's Support 
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to win confirmation to head the Department of Health and Human Services after his nomination cleared the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday and a key Republican senator assented to his confirmation. (Wilkerson, Cueto, Zhang and Lawrence, 2/4)

The Hill: Cassidy Says He Secured Key Vaccine Commitments From RFK Jr.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said he secured significant concessions from the Trump administration on vaccine safety that led to his vote Tuesday morning to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Cassidy voted with all other Finance Committee Republicans on Tuesday to advance Kennedy’s nomination to the floor. (Weixel, 2/4)

Fortune Well: Pfizer CEO Had Dinner With RFK Jr.: ‘I’m Cautiously Optimistic’ In Spite Of His History With Vaccines
In an earnings call Tuesday, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla remained focused on the positive. He noted that he had dinner with RFK Jr. and said, “I focus more not on the things that we clearly disagree, like the vaccines, but on the things that we can agree and we can do things together… I’m cautiously optimistic.” (Steiner, 2/4)

The Hill: Donald Trump Says 'Something Really Wrong' With Autism Rates Ahead RFK Jr. Vote
President Trump shared figures inflating the spike in autism in a post Tuesday morning promoting his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, highlighting a key data point in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s debunked theories around a link between autism and vaccines. “20 years ago, Autism in children was 1 in 10,000. NOW IT’S 1 in 34. WOW! Something’s really wrong. We need BOBBY!!! Thank You! DJT,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. ... About 1 in 36 children now have a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared to about 1 in 150 in 2000. (Gangitano, 2/4)

KFF Health News: Trump’s Already Gone Back On His Promise To Leave Abortion To States
Abortion foes worried before his election that President Donald Trump had moved on, now that Roe v. Wade is overturned and abortion policy, as he said on the campaign trail, “has been returned to the states.” Their concerns mounted after Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime supporter of abortion rights, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services — and then as he signed a slew of Day 1 executive orders that said nothing about abortion. (Rovner, 2/5)

NBC News: Federal Health Workers Terrified After 'DEI' Website Publishes List Of 'Targets'
Federal health workers are expressing fear and alarm after a website called “DEI Watch List” published the photos, names and public information of a number of workers across health agencies, describing them at one point as “targets.” It’s unclear when the website, which lists mostly Black employees who work in agencies primarily within the Department of Health and Human Services, first appeared. “Offenses” for the workers listed on the website include working on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, donating to Democrats and using pronouns in their bios. (Lovelace Jr. and Edwards, 2/5)

MedPage Today: Physician Group Sues Trump Health Agencies Over Scrubbed Sites, Data
Physicians have launched a legal challenge against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and federal health agencies for removing webpages from health-related websites. Doctors for America filed a lawsuit in federal court against the OPM, CDC, FDA, and HHS over the removal of a "broad range of health-related data and other information used every day" by health professionals and researchers. The announcement was made on Tuesday by Public Citizen Litigation Group, the legal arm of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen. (Henderson, 2/4)

Bloomberg: Congress Urged To Protect Federal Statistics From Trump ‘Purge’
A federal statistics advocacy group is urging Congress to restore any government data removed by the Trump administration and prevent it from happening again. The Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics has drafted a letter to Senate and House leadership upon the shutdown of some parts of government websites, as well as removal of several health datasets in recent days. COPAFS is collecting signatures from individuals and organizations until Friday. (Tanzi, 2/4)

MedPage Today: Public Health Journal Won't Be Complicit In Trump Admin's Censorship
Studies censored by government employees will have a tough time getting published in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), the journal's leadership said during an interview with MedPage Today's editor in chief. "We at the American Journal of Public Health have no interest in following the president's prohibitions on language," said Georges Benjamin, MD, publisher of AJPH and executive director of its parent organization, the American Public Health Association. (Fiore, 2/4)

MedPage Today: ACOG Will Host Contraceptive Guidance For Ob/Gyns Amid CDC Website Purge
Amid a political environment in which government websites are being gutted of vital health information, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has stepped up to host PDFs of government-issued ob/gyn-related guidance at risk of being purged. The organization has long listed and linked out to clinical guidance from the CDC and other medical professional associations that it endorses. (Robertson, 2/4)

The Washington Post: The Words Putting Science Funding In The Crosshairs Of Trump’s Orders
“Women.” “Diverse.” “Institutional.” “Historically.” (Johnson, Dance and Achenbach, 2/4)

The New York Times: A Legal Counteroffensive To Beat Back Trump’s Government Purges
Workers from across the federal government set off a legal counteroffensive against President Trump and Elon Musk on Tuesday, challenging the legality of efforts to raze their agencies, single them out publicly or push them out of their jobs. ... It will be up to the courts to decide whether the president has the power to not only direct the executive branch, but also to forcefully recast it in his own image. It may also be up to the judicial branch of government to find a way to ensure that its own decisions are enforced. (Schwartz and Savage, 2/4)

The New York Times: Trump Officials To Put Almost All U.S.A.I.D. Workers On Leave
Nearly the entire global work force of the main American aid agency, known as U.S.A.I.D., will be put on leave by the end of Friday, according to an official memo the agency posted online Tuesday night. The notice said only a small subset of “designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs” would be exempt. (Demirjian, Wong and Crowley, 2/4)

The New York Times: Foreign Strongmen Cheer As Musk Dismantles U.S. Aid Agency 
Agency grants to promote democracy, human rights and good governance have gone to support election monitoring groups, anti-corruption watchdogs, independent media outlets and human rights organizations — exactly the kind of oversight that leaders like President Vladimir Putin detest. (Sonne, 3/5)

The Washington Post: Deaf Federal Workers Face Uncertain Access Following Trump’s DEI Orders
Some deaf federal employees at some agencies aren’t able to access American Sign Language interpreting services and other accommodations as a result of President Donald Trump’s orders to remove all positions related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, according to advocates working with deaf federal employees and interpreters. (Morris, 2/4)

On federal grants —

Stat: NIH Resumes Grant Reviews After Trump Administration Pause 
On Tuesday morning, the National Institutes of Health hosted the first study section to review grant applications in over two weeks, following an abrupt and indefinite pause by the Trump administration on Jan. 22. Such meetings — in which expert scientists from around the country consider whether the agency should support proposed research projects — are a core part of how the NIH fulfills its mission to improve human health and reduce illness and disease. (Molteni and Oza, 2/4)

The New York Times: Trump’s Attempt To Freeze Grant Funding Leaves Nonprofits Reeling
Last week, the Trump administration briefly froze all federal grant spending, cutting off funding to nonprofit groups that do work under a government contract. It lasted all of two days. Then the memo that announced the freeze was rescinded, and two federal judges blocked it, for good measure. But this week, many nonprofit groups said they still felt frozen, or at least chilled. ... Those groups laid off staff and cut back on services — canceling job training in West Virginia, immigrant services in Wisconsin and help for disabled children in Vermont. (Fahrenthold, Nehamas, Silver-Greenberg and Mandavilli, 2/4)

Global repercussions of Trump's funding freeze —

AP: Trump Announces Withdrawal From UN Human Rights Body And Halt To Funding For Palestinian Refugees
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the United States will withdraw from the top U.N. human rights body and will not resume funding for the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees. The U.S. left the Geneva-based Human Rights Council last year, and it stopped funding the agency assisting Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, after Israel accused it of harboring Hamas militants who participated in the surprise Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel, which UNRWA denies. (Lederer, 2/5)

The Washington Post: Fear, Pain And Hunger: The Dire Impact Of U.S. Funding Cuts In Africa 
Soup kitchens can no longer feed the hungry. First responders are unable to reach the dead and wounded. Mothers and fathers search in vain for the medicines that keep them alive. Across Africa, in bombed-out Sudanese cities, Kenyan clinics and Mauritanian refugee camps, the policies of the Trump administration are already having profound consequences for some of the world’s most vulnerable people. (Houreld and Chason, 2/4)

In related news about tariffs —

The Washington Post: USPS Suspends Packages From China As Trump’s Tariffs Start 
The U.S. Postal Service abruptly suspended inbound package shipments from China and Hong Kong on Tuesday as President Donald Trump’s trade war began in earnest. The mail agency’s move may block or delay, at least temporarily, parcels from retailers including Shein and Temu and some from Amazon. (2/5)

Politico: Device, Drug Makers Seek Tariff Exemptions
President Donald Trump reached a deal to put tariffs on Mexico and Canada on hold for a month on Monday, but health care firms are signaling they want exemptions from U.S. tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China he unveiled over the weekend. Makers of drugs and medical devices say the 25 percent tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico and 10 percent tariff on goods from China could have an outsized impact on American patients and the medical product supply chain. (Lim, 2/4)

The Washington Post: Trump Administration Orders Halt To Transgender Health, Research Programs
The Trump administration is moving forward with its campaign to eradicate federal funding intended to improve the lives and health of transgender people, including by sending notices in recent days that terminate grants for transgender health services and research. The National Institutes of Health, for example, has demanded a halt to a large-scale study that was examining ways to prevent HIV infections in transgender youth of color before it could enroll participants this week. (Nirappil, 2/4)

The New York Times: Judge Blocks Trump Effort To Move Trans Women To Men’s Prisons
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Bureau of Prisons from enacting President Trump’s executive order to house transgender women with male inmates and stop medical treatment related to gender transitions. Judge Royce C. Lamberth, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said that three transgender prisoners who brought a suit to stop the order had “straightforwardly demonstrated that irreparable harm will follow” if their request for a restraining order were to be denied. (Dewan, 2/4)

NBC News: Trans Young Adults And Parents Sue Over Trump's Orders Restricting Transition Care
Two transgender young adults and five families of trans minors filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging two executive orders President Donald Trump issued over the last two weeks that aim to prohibit federal funding of transition-related health care for anyone under 19, and define sex as biological, only male and female and unchangeable. (Yurcaba, 2/4)

Los Angeles Times: Children's Hospital L.A. Stops Initiating Hormone Therapy For Trans Youth
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles said Tuesday that it is pausing the initiation of hormonal therapy for “gender affirming care patients” under the age of 19 as hospital officials assess last week’s executive order from President Trump targeting gender-affirming care for young people. The L.A. hospital, a major provider of care for transgender youth, also said it was maintaining an “existing pause” on gender-affirming surgeries for minors. (Alpert Reyes, 2/4)

AP: LA Clinics Lose Funding For Transgender Health Care As Trump Executive Orders Take Hold
A Los Angeles health clinic says it’s losing federal funding as a result of President Donald Trump ’s executive orders targeting transgender people. St. John’s Community Health, one of the largest free and reduced-cost providers in Los Angeles, reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday terminated a $1.6 million grant that was supposed to support its transgender health and social services program. St. John’s is the first California health provider to publicly report service impacts as a result of the Trump administration’s actions. (Hwang, 2/4)

Modern Healthcare: Moody’s Downgrades Insurance Credit Outlook
Moody’s Ratings downgraded its assessment of the health insurance sector from "stable" to "negative" on Friday. High medical costs and utilization are expected to continue challenging Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial insurance carriers this year, Moody’s Ratings projects. A report published Friday cites inflation, pharmaceutical spending and higher mental health utilization as headwinds. (Berryman, 2/4)

In other health industry news —

Modern Healthcare: Baystate Health Layoffs Impact Nearly 100 Leadership Positions
Baystate Health has eliminated 98 corporate positions, or less than 1% of its workforce, as part of a larger cost-cutting initiative, the system said Tuesday. The Springfield, Massachusetts-based system also eliminated 134 leadership roles in November as part of an overall six-year, $1.2 billion investment plan. In both rounds of job cuts, some of the affected positions were vacant. (DeSilva, 2/4)

Military.Com: Mental Health Providers In Tricare East Go Unpaid After Claims Processor Switch
Some health providers across the Tricare East Region have gone unpaid since the beginning of the year, leading them to wonder whether they can continue to treat military members or their families. Mental health counselors, physical therapists, autism specialists and others say they haven't been paid since Dec. 31, when Humana Military, the contractor for Tricare East, switched claims processing companies. (Kime, 2/4)

The Baltimore Sun: Legionella Found In Baltimore County Hospital 
Testing results show elevated levels of Legionella bacteria at a Catonsville psychiatric hospital, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of Health confirmed Tuesday. Some of the hospital’s showers are shut down pending treatment for the bacteria. (Bazos, 2/4)

Modern Healthcare: How Sutter Health, Advocate Health Fund Ambulatory Care Projects
New ambulatory facilities are a hot ticket among hospitals and health systems of all sizes, and providers are tapping into a variety of sources to foot the bill. Providers have for years sought to meet patient demand for lower-cost ambulatory services, and the need for facilities to house those services has only grown with an aging population. To stay relevant, providers need to funnel their capital toward ambulatory care. (Hudson, 2/4)

Also —

Stat: International Monitor Allows Monkey Shipments From Cambodia To Continue
In a boost for one of the largest clinical research organizations in the U.S., the officials who oversee an international treaty governing endangered species voted to defer a recommendation to suspend shipments of long-tailed macaques — which are regularly used in medical research — from Cambodia. (Silverman, 2/4)

AP: San Francisco Grants New Mayor 'Unprecedented' Powers To Battle Fentanyl Crisis
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to give newly elected Mayor Daniel Lurie greater powers and flexibility to expedite the city’s response to a fentanyl crisis that has turned sidewalks into open-air dens of drug consumption and homelessness. The board voted 10-1 to eliminate competitive bidding requirements for some contracts and allow the administration to solicit private donations to quickly add 1,500 shelter beds and hire more public safety and behavioral health specialists. (Har, 2/4)

San Francisco Chronicle: Oakland Nonprofits Lose Critical Funding Amid City's Budget Woes
Nonprofit leaders were stunned when Oakland’s city administrator notified more than a dozen community organizations, including Meals on Wheels and other services for seniors, last week that the city would slash their funding to help balance its massive budget deficit. Thirteen organizations that provide violence prevention, youth and senior services will lose a total of $2.6 million in funding by the end of February. The move comes as the city grapples with a nearly $130 million budget deficit that is eviscerating basic services. (Ravani, 2/4)

In other health news from across the U.S. —

CBS News: Maryland Saw Sharp Decline In Fatal Overdoses In 2024, Gov. Moore Says
Maryland saw a dramatic decline in fatal overdoses in 2024, Governor Wes Moore said in a statement Tuesday. Data from Maryland's Overdose Data Dashboard shows 1,553 reported fatal overdoses in the state last year, which is a 38% decrease from the 2,511 fatal overdoses in 2023. (Olaniran, 2/4)

Wyoming Public Radio: The Wyoming House Passed A Bill Banning Discrimination Based On COVID-19 Testing, Masking Or Vaccine Status
This year’s Legislature is considering several bills related to public health. HB 96 would prohibit discrimination based on COVID-19 face covering, vaccination or testing status. It applies to any person who receives subsidies from the state or federal government. In Wyoming statute, “person” includes individuals, partnerships, corporations, joint stock companies, associations, and any other public or private entity. Those in violation could pay up to $5,000 to the aggrieved. (Khera, 2/4)

Missouri Independent: Missouri Prison Nursery Opens To Keep Mothers With Babies 
Tara Carroll gave birth to her daughter in 2022 while serving a 22-year sentence in the Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic & Correctional Center. Shortly after she finished laboring in the hospital, the baby was sent home with her husband while she returned to her prison cell. She didn’t leave her bed for a week. Back in an environment where she felt she always had to be strong, she wrestled with postpartum depression. (Spoerre, 2/4)

North Carolina Health News: Fewer NC Kids Killed By Parent Or Caregiver, Report Shows
Fewer North Carolina children are dying at the hands of a parent or caregiver, according to a new report by a retired leader of the state’s health system whose career focused on the well-being of children. The report also showed an even larger decline over the past decade in the rates of child deaths among military families when compared with civilian families. (Fernandez, 2/5)

KFF Health News: Wash, Dry, Enroll: Finding Medicaid Help At The Laundromat
At a SuperSuds Laundromat just south of Washington, D.C., a steady stream of customers loaded clothes into washers and dryers on a recent Sunday morning, passing the time on their phones or watching television. Amid the low hum of spinning clothes, Adrienne Jones made the rounds in a bright yellow sweatshirt, asking customers about their health needs. “Do you have health coverage?” Jones, an outreach manager for Fabric Health, asked Brendan Glover, 25, who was doing laundry with his toddler in tow. (Galewitz, 2/5)

MedPage Today: FDA OKs New Wearable Treatment For Parkinson's Disease
The FDA approved an apomorphine hydrochloride infusion device (Onapgo) to treat motor fluctuations in adults with advanced Parkinson's disease, Supernus Pharmaceuticals announced on Tuesday. The wearable device is the first subcutaneous apomorphine infusion device for Parkinson's and provides continuous treatment during the day, Supernus noted. (George, 2/4)

The New York Times: Ozempic-Like Drug Failed To Treat Parkinson’s Disease In Trial
The idea was so tantalizing. Drugs in the GLP-1 class, which includes Wegovy and Ozempic, have proved miraculous in treating weight loss and other diseases. And some researchers hoped that the drugs could also help with some of the most difficult diseases to treat — those of the brain, like Parkinson’s. But now, at least for Parkinson’s, that hope seems dimmed. A rigorous study that randomly assigned Parkinson’s patients to take exenatide, a relative of Ozempic, showed absolutely no benefit or slowing of the course of the degenerative disease after 96 weeks. (Kolata, 2/4)

More health and wellness news —

Fox News: Common Cancer Type Could Be Detected With New Blood Test
A new blood test was found to detect colon cancer with more than 80% accuracy — and to rule it out for 90% of healthy people. The results were presented at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium held in San Francisco late last month. They were also published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. (Rudy, 2/4)

ABC News: Black Kidney Patients Find Renewed Hope After Rules Change For Transplant List
Since the 1990s, a race-based method for assessing kidney function placed many Black patients lower on the transplant waitlist. However, thousands of these patients were moved up the list in recent years when a widely used lab test was found to calculate results differently for Black patients. "We have a long history in this country of actually biases against certain transplant candidates, in particular African Americans, because of the way that we calculate how bad the kidney function is," Dr. Edmund Pribitkin, a professor at Thomas Jefferson University, said. (Smith and Louallen, 2/4)

CNN: You’ll Probably Feel Better About That Problem In The Morning, Study Suggests 
Your parents may be right: Get some sleep and you’ll feel better in the morning, according to new research. “Our study suggests that people’s mental health and wellbeing could fluctuate over time of day,” said lead study author Dr. Feifei Bu, principal research fellow in statistics and epidemiology at University College London, in an email. “On average, people seem to feel best early in the day and worst late at night.” (Holcombe, 2/4)

KFF Health News: Listen To The Latest 'KFF Health News Minute'
Renu Rayasam delivers this week’s news: There are still no proven therapies for long covid despite more than $1 billion in federal funding, and some hospitals are assigning dogs to work alongside medical staff in hospitals to help them cope with burnout and stress. (2/4)

The Boston Globe: The Abortion Wars’ New Frontier: The Limits Of Shield Laws
Last week, Louisiana prosecutors filed criminal charges against a New York doctor for violating the state’s abortion laws. The facts of the case aren’t fully clear, but prosecutors allege that the doctor mailed pills to a woman who gave them to her minor daughter. When the daughter experienced complications and called 911, law enforcement learned that she’d terminated her pregnancy and discovered the pills had come from out of state. (Mary Ziegler, 2/5)

The New York Times: Senate Should Protect Kids From Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 
What would happen if there were a need for another Operation Warp Speed, but this time the point man on health was suspicious of vaccines — including those that arrested the last pandemic? (Nicholas Kristof, 2/4)

CNBC: I Know What's Needed To End Fentanyl Crisis. Tariffs Aren't It
President Trump’s decision to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China — which he justified under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to combat the fentanyl crisis —makes good on a running threat to do so. It may appear bold to some or as an attempt to “negotiate” by others, but for many it is legally questionable, economically risky, and geopolitically shortsighted. (Dewardric L. McNeal, 2/3)

Stat: The Health Insurance Industry Is Based On A Single Deceit 
Why are Americans furious at health insurers — so incensed that many have made an alleged assassin, charged with terrorism, into a folk hero? (M. Gregg Bloche, 2/5)

Stat: Discourse On DEI Bans Need Evidence, Nuance, And Empathy
Across the country, state legislatures are considering or enacting bans on state-funded diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. National leaders have broadly criticized DEI efforts, with the current administration working to dismantle decades of federal programs. Businesses that once championed diversity after the deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery are retreating from prior commitments. But what is fueling this backlash? (Jerome Adams, 2/4)