The White House's new, quiet plan to attack public health

The administration has made no secret of its push for these disastrous policies, but it is taking a far more subversive approach to its next and perhaps most far-reaching assault on health. The administration has quietly issued a sweeping regulation that seems to make.

The health ramifications of this proposal, which is scheduled to take effect on Oct. If implemented, medical research and public health programs that affect the lives of people across America would be judged on political ideology tests rather than their impact on our nation’s.

What Happened

In my four decades in medicine and public health, I have never seen a federal regulation this misguided, or with this much potential for both immediate and long-lasting harm. Most Americans are probably unfamiliar with the federal budget process.

• The federal government distributes more than $1 trillion in federal grants each year to states, localities, hospitals, universities, nonprofits and other organizations.

• Wildfires in Southern California in 2025 destroyed more than 18,000 homes and displaced more than 200,000 residents.

• Richard Besser, MD, is the president and chief executive officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Key Details

Before joining the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, I was one of them. But my 13 years at CDC, during Republican and Democratic administrations – which included four years leading emergency preparedness and response, and a stint as acting director –.

• A proposal this dangerous – especially in the hands of an authoritarian administration – should never see the light of day.

• Health simply cannot be wielded as a political weapon.

• Those of us who do genuinely care about health must use every tool at our disposal to stop this regulation, including legislative oversight, the legal system and the court of public opinion.

Why It Matters

These funds support the research that leads to treatments and cures for illness. They power vaccine clinics and responses to disease outbreaks.

• The Trump administration talks a big game about making America healthy, but its record shows otherwise.

• Still, the administration is barreling ahead to give itself and any future White House the power to reward allies, silence critics and rule by decree at the expense of people’s lives.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by USA Today as more details emerge