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A federal judge ruled that the swift takedown of health information across several government webpages earlier this year was illegal and vacated agencies’ directives to do so. ... In an order filed Thursday, U.S. District Judge John Bates described the case as an example of “government officials acting first and thinking later,” writing that HHS and the Office of Personnel and Management, which had issued the memo directing webpage takedowns, had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” and in contrary of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). (Muoio, 7/7)

The Department of Health and Human Services emailed staff a “whistle-blower questionnaire” asking them to report cases of discrimination due to past diversity, equity and inclusion directives, according to an email obtained by POLITICO. The email asks staff five questions about whether they’ve witnessed people nix grants or contracts “with discriminatory language” and if they knew current and former staff who were passed over for promotions or hiring due to “race, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.” (Nguyen, 7/7)

The Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday that it will no longer be forced to conduct a large reduction in workforce, unlike several other federal agencies that were forced to make mass layoffs because of the Trump administration’s U.S. DOGE Service. In a news release, VA said that it was on pace to reduce its total staff by nearly 30,000 employees by the end of this fiscal year, a push that the department said eliminates the need for a “large-scale reduction-in-force.” The announcement marks a significant reversal for the Trump administration, which had planned for months to cut VA by roughly 83,000 employees, according to plans revealed in an internal memo circulated to agency staffers in March. At the time, VA Secretary Douglas A. Collins said in remarks shared to social media that the cuts were tough but necessary. (Alfaro, Natanson and Kornfield, 7/7)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Workplace Mental Health At Risk As Key Federal Agency Faces Cuts

In Connecticut, construction workers in the Local 478 union who complete addiction treatment are connected with a recovery coach who checks in daily, attends recovery meetings with them, and helps them navigate the return to work for a year. In Pennsylvania, doctors applying for credentials at Geisinger hospitals are not required to answer intrusive questions about mental health care they’ve received, reducing the stigma around clinicians seeking treatment. (Pattani, 7/8)

Fogbow is working with combatants to deliver food to some of the world’s most desperate and inaccessible places. Aid groups warn of unintended consequences. (Houreld, 7/8)

Inspectors charged with safeguarding America’s drug supply say they are reeling from deep cuts at the Food and Drug Administration despite promises by the Trump administration to preserve the work of the agency’s investigative force. Dozens of people who help coordinate travel for complex inspections of foreign drug-making factories have been let go, and though some have since been rehired, inspectors said the ongoing strain of policing an industry spread across more than 90 countries has exhausted staff and could compromise the safety of medications used by millions of people. (Malis, Dailey, Leite, Cenziper and Rose, 7/7)

How the new health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is dismantling the agency. (Interlandi, 7/8)

The Trump administration has withdrawn its plan to rewrite a ban on the last type of asbestos still used in the United States. The Biden-era ban was a victory for health advocates who had long fought to prohibit the carcinogenic mineral in all its forms. Last month the Trump administration said it planned to reconsider the asbestos ban, which would have delayed its implementation by several years. But late Monday, it withdrew that filing. (Tabuchi, 7/7)

In January 2021, after a nitrogen leak at a poultry plant in Georgia killed 6 workers and injured scores more, federal investigators arrived at the scene. The team, from a small federal agency called the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, traced the fatal leak to a freezer part that had been bent out of shape. A series of recommendations to improve safety followed. Now, the White House is planning to eliminate the agency, allocating $0 for its budget starting in 2026. Even industry groups are opposed. (Tabuchi, 7/8)