Department of Health and Human Services

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Judge Orders HHS to Restore Children's Health Funding

District court says AAP grants must be restored while lawsuit plays out

(Newser) - A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore nearly $12 million in funding to the American Academy of Pediatrics, including money for rural health care and the early identification of disabilities in young children. US District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, DC, awarded the preliminary injunction late Sunday,...

A Long-Used Drug Is Helping People Cut Back on Alcohol

Medication naltrexone interacts with opioid receptors to cut cravings

(Newser) - If you'd like to limit alcohol consumption in line with new dietary guidelines , a 40-year-old pill is suddenly getting a fresh look. Naltrexone, long prescribed for alcohol use disorder and opioid dependence, is being embraced by people who wouldn't call themselves alcoholics but regularly exceed health guidelines. Instead...

Amid 'Operational Chaos,' Judge Rules on Child Care Grants

Federal court says Trump administration can't block those subsidies, others—at least for now

(Newser) - A federal judge ruled Friday that President Trump's administration can't block federal money for child care subsidies and other programs aimed at supporting low-income families with children from flowing to five Democratic-led states, at least for now. California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York argued that a policy...

Pediatrics Group Sues HHS
Pediatrics Group
Goes After HHS
Dec 25, 2025 5:33 AM CST

Pediatrics Group Goes After HHS

AAP sues feds for cutting $12M funds for children's health programs

(Newser) - The American Academy of Pediatrics sued the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday, seeking to block nearly $12 million in cuts to the group. Earlier this month, the federal government "abruptly terminated" grants to the group, the lawsuit says. The funding supported numerous public health programs, reports...

White House Considers Big Change to Vaccine Guidance

Move toward 'shared decision-making' alarms public health experts and doctors

(Newser) - The federal government is weighing a redesign of its childhood vaccine playbook that would move it closer to Denmark's leaner schedule and step back from strongly recommending many shots, the Washington Post reports. According to two people familiar with internal talks, Trump administration officials are considering moving most routine...

HHS Cuts Grants to Pediatric Group Amid Clash With RFK Jr.

Slashed funding to American Academy of Pediatrics halts child health, vaccine-related initiatives

(Newser) - Federal health officials have yanked millions in grants from one of their most outspoken critics, and the American Academy of Pediatrics says kids will pay the price. The Department of Health and Human Services this week canceled seven grants to the AAP worth an estimated $18 million, according to documents...

RFK Jr. Replaces Chair of Vaccine Committee

New chair has blamed vaccines for causing cardiovascular disease

(Newser) - US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has replaced the head of his controversial vaccine advisory committee, federal officials announced Monday. Martin Kulldorff is leaving the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to take a leadership role within the Department of Health and Human Services, officials said. Dr. Kirk Milhoan, who...

RFK Jr. Is Asked: What if You're Wrong?
RFK Jr.
Is Asked:
What if
You're Wrong?
longform
Nov 29, 2025 11:30 AM CST

RFK Jr. Is Asked: What if You're Wrong?

'We would listen,' he tells the Atlantic in profile, but health secretary remains confident he's right

(Newser) - Michael Scherer's lengthy profile of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the Atlantic gets to the heart of the matter early: Is the health secretary a "truth-telling crusader, or brain-wormed loon?" Those on both sides will find ammo to bolster their cases in the piece, which is different from...

CDC Makes Big Change to Page on Autism, Vaccines

The statement 'Vaccines do not cause autism' now has asterisk, disclaimer

(Newser) - During Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearings, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a key vote, said Kennedy had assured him that the CDC would "not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism." Kennedy has kept his word, but not...

Trump Moves to Dismantle Education Department

Plan would scatter programs to Labor, State, and other agencies

(Newser) - President Trump unveiled a sweeping plan Tuesday to break up the Education Department, part of a broader effort to shrink the federal government's role in American schooling. The administration's proposal would shift most of the department's responsibilities—including support for K-12 academics and college access—into other...

Former HHS Adviser Says There's a 'Coup' Against RFK Jr.

Steven Hatfill alleges Kennedy's chief of staff, Matt Buckham, is behind it

(Newser) - Steven Hatfill, a senior adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services, was fired over the weekend, according to both Hatfill and a senior agency official. Hatfill, known for his public support of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s move to end funding for mRNA vaccine research,...

Poll Shows Deep Partisan Divide on RFK Jr., Health Opinions

Nearly 60% of Americans disapprove of health secretary, though that's mainly Dems, independents

(Newser) - A new poll from KFF spotlights just how sharply health opinions are split along party lines in the United States. Asked about President Trump's recent public attack on acetaminophen—the main ingredient in Tylenol, which he linked to autism—Democrats and Republicans responded in near mirror-image opposition. While...

RFK Jr. Orders New FDA Review of Key Abortion Pill

Move could affect access to most common abortion method nationwide

(Newser) - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced this week that the FDA will launch a fresh review of mifepristone, the primary drug used for medication abortions in the US. The move comes in response to requests from 22 Republican attorneys general, who've raised concerns about...

Ousted CDC Director Shares Her Take on What Transpired

Susan Monarez says RFK Jr. wanted 'blanket approval' of vaccine changes

(Newser) - Former CDC Director Susan Monarez appeared before the Senate on Wednesday, detailing the circumstances of her unexpected firing less than a month after her Senate confirmation. Monarez testified that she was removed for refusing to follow directives from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., specifically his...

HHS Plans No-Bid Contract on Tying Autism to Vaccines

Kennedy announced definitive research effort though scientists have never found evidence of a connection

(Newser) - Federal health officials intend to award a contract to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to investigate whether there is a link between vaccinations and autism, according to a government procurement notice. The Troy, New York, engineering school was selected for the no-bid contract because of its "unique ability" to link data...

HHS Report to Tie Tylenol, Low Folate to Autism: WSJ

RFK Jr.-driven report will also highlight folate drug leucovorin as possible autism treatment

(Newser) - A forthcoming report from the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expected to suggest a possible link between pregnant women's use of Tylenol, whose active ingredient is acetaminophen, and autism, as well as a connection to low folate levels. The...

Ousted CDC Chief Accuses Kennedy of Vaccine 'Sabotage'

Susan Monarez says she was fired for trying to counter attempts to 'compromise science'

(Newser) - Susan Monarez lasted only 29 days in her job as head of the CDC before being fired last week . In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Monarez writes that she lost her job because she refused to go along with health secretary Robert F. Kennedy's plan to "compromise science....

Bernie Sanders: RFK Jr. Must Resign
Bernie Sanders:
Kennedy Has to Go
OPINION
Aug 31, 2025 7:41 AM CDT

Bernie Sanders: Kennedy Has to Go

Health secretary is endangering American lives, the senator writes

(Newser) - Bernie Sanders has written a scathing op-ed about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demanding that the health secretary resign because he is "endangering American lives." In his New York Times piece, the Vermont senator focuses on vaccines. "It is absurd to have to say this in 2025, but...

Hundreds of Staffers Losing Jobs at the CDC

Layoffs come amid worker anger at response to shooting at HQ in Atlanta

(Newser) - Two stories in the news suggest that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a tense place to work at the moment:
  • Layoffs: The Washington Post reports that between 500 and 600 CDC staffers received permanent layoff notices this week. The agency has not confirmed the number.
  • Letter to
...

RFK Jr. Pulls $500M in Vaccine Development Funding

HHS announces funding cuts related to mRNA vaccine research

(Newser) - The Department of Health and Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu, the AP reports. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a statement Tuesday that 22 projects, totaling $500 million, to develop vaccines...

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