Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Key GOP Senator, Who's Also A Doctor, Balks At RFK Jr.'s View Of Vaccines
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.), the incoming chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said Sunday that President-elect Trump鈥檚 nominee for Health and Human Services secretary is 鈥榳rong鈥 when it comes to vaccinations.聽Discussing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚 nomination on Fox News, Cassidy, a physician, said, 鈥淰accinations, he鈥檚 wrong on, and so I just look forward to having a good dialogue with him on that.鈥 (Choi, Weixel and O'Connell-Domenech, 1/6)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vowed to reverse the 鈥渃hronic disease epidemic.鈥 If he鈥檚 confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 health secretary, he鈥檒l have to work with congressional Republicans who鈥檝e targeted the arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that works on it. The potential conflict underscores the ways Trump鈥檚 health nominees, and their priorities, are shaking up the policy and budget fault lines in Congress and exposes the rift between conservative priorities and the 鈥淢ake America Healthy Again鈥 movement. (Gardner, 1/6)
On fluoride and RFK Jr. 鈥
A new government study reviewing past research on the safety of fluoride for children found a slight decrease in IQ scores overall as levels of fluoride exposure increase. But the authors acknowledged that many of the papers included in the new analysis had a 鈥渉igh risk of bias,鈥 and they said their work was not designed to address the public health implications of water fluoridation in the U.S. The issue of fluoridation has gained national attention recently because of the rising prominence of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump鈥檚 pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, and an outspoken critic of fluoridation. (Oza, 1/6)
On Donald Trump's agenda 鈥
Less than 24 hours after Trump endorsed 鈥渙ne powerful bill鈥 to carry his domestic policy agenda, a dozen senators said in interviews that the legislative path to its enactment remains an open question. It underscores the mounting confusion as Republicans feel pressure to show quick progress on border, energy and tax priorities. The stakes are huge, with the call over whether to move one bill or two having major implications for whether Trump can follow through on his campaign pledges before potentially losing unified GOP control of Washington in two years. (Perano and Carney, 1/7)
