RFK Jr. vs. Congress
The Host
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. completed his marathon tour of House and Senate committees this week to defend President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for his department, but he got grilled on lots of non-budget matters as well, most notably his proposed changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.
Meanwhile, Trump made some of his own health policy, signing an executive order to facilitate the use of hallucinogens to treat mental health conditions. That action came just days after it was suggested to him in a text message from podcaster/influencer Joe Rogan, who was present in the Oval Office for the signing.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Victoria Knight of Bloomberg Government, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times.
Panelists
Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:
- There were fewer fireworks than expected during Kennedy’s four-day, whirlwind tour of Capitol Hill. One thing that was clear is that Kennedy got the political memo that he is to watch his vaccine rhetoric and keep the focus on politically palatable topics such as chronic disease and healthy eating. Still, there were episodes of indignation and grandstanding, from the secretary and from lawmakers. Kennedy also sometimes struggled to defend administration proposals to cut funding.
- Among members who pressed Kennedy on vaccines was Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who is facing a difficult primary challenge. Cassidy, a physician, has in the past clashed with Kennedy over vaccines and has been targeted by the Make America Healthy Again movement. In hearings, however, Cassidy led with questions on abortion issues, which fit more aptly into his red-state politics. Meanwhile, though Cassidy’s Senate seat is considered at risk, it’s not clear that the MAHA muscle on the ground is living up to the threat.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has decreed that annual flu shots will no longer be required for active-duty and reserve military service members. This appears to be a sign that the balance between public health and personal liberty is tilting toward the latter more than ever. It also is contrary to conventional wisdom that the flu, unchecked, could take a toll on the armed services. Minimizing the threat of flu among the troops has been viewed as a readiness issue.
- Meanwhile, National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, in his role filling in as leader of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has reportedly canceled publication of a study that found the covid vaccine dramatically reduced hospitalizations and emergency room visits. News reports indicate that Bhattacharya objected to the study’s methodology, but CDC officials say it’s the same methodology used in the past.
Also this week, in the latest installment of our “How Would You Fix It?” series, Rovner interviews doctor, author, and Harvard public health professor David Blumenthal about his ideas for making the health system work better.
Plus for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:
Julie Rovner: The Washington Post’s “KitKat, Gatorade or Granola Bars? What’s Banned Under New SNAP Rules Is Mixed,” by Rachel Roubein.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg: Politico’s “Trump’s Surgeon General Pick Faces Mounting GOP Opposition,” by Amanda Friedman and Alice Miranda Ollstein.
Alice Miranda Ollstein: The Washington Post’s “Where U.S. Science Has Been Hit Hardest After Trump’s First Year,” by Carolyn Y. Johnson, Lydia Sidhom, and Susan Svrluga.
Victoria Knight: The New York Times’ “A $440,000 Breast Reduction: How Doctors Cashed In on a Consumer Protection Law,” by Sarah Kliff and Margot Sanger-Katz.
Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:
- Politico’s “Set on Ousting Cassidy, MAHA Faces First Midterms Test,” by Alice Miranda Ollstein and Liz Crampton.
- The Washington Post’s “CDC Won’t Publish Report Showing Covid Shots Cut Likelihood of Hospital Visits,” by Lena H. Sun.
- The Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ “Annual Summary of Vital Statistics: Trends in the Health of Americans During the 20th Century,” by Bernard Guyer, Mary Anne Freedman, Donna M. Strobino, and Edward J. Sondik.
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