Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump To Revamp Military Standards, Targeting Trans Troops And 'Mental And Physical Health Conditions'
President Donald Trump on Monday night issued an executive order targeting transgender service members and an array of other people, saying that the U.S. military has been 鈥渁fflicted with radical gender ideology to appease activists鈥 and that 鈥渕any mental and physical health conditions are incompatible with active duty.鈥 The list of conditions identified could affect tens of thousands of people depending on how it is interpreted. It cites diagnoses 鈥渢hat require substantial medication or medical treatment to bipolar and related disorders, eating disorders, suicidality, and prior psychiatric hospitalization.鈥 (Lamothe, Ryan and Horton, 1/28)
On his first day back in power, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on gender that essentially states that males become males and females become female 鈥渁t conception.鈥 But that, medical experts say, is wrong. All fertilized eggs or embryos are filled with both male Y and female X chromosomes, and the gender doesn鈥檛 reveal itself until weeks later, they said. And even then, it鈥檚 sometimes hard to tell whether it鈥檚 a girl, a boy, or a baby with the sexual characteristics of both. (Siemaszko, 1/27)
In other LGBTQ+ news from the Trump administration 鈥
The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed President Donald Trump鈥檚 pick for Treasury secretary, openly gay hedge fund manager Scott Bessent. The nominee was confirmed by vote of 68-29. He will be the second openly gay man to serve in the Cabinet, after Biden-Harris administration Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and in a Cabinet-level office, after Obama-Biden administration Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis and Trump-Pence administration Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell. (Kane, 1/28)
On covid 鈥
Service members dismissed from the military for failing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 will be reinstated with full back pay and benefits under an executive order President Trump is expected to sign Monday. ... Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also vowed to reinstate military members dismissed over the COVID-19 shot, saying during his confirmation hearing that those service members 鈥渨ill be apologized to. They will be reinstated, reinstituted with pay and rank.鈥澛(Weixel, 1/27)
China on Monday dismissed the possibility that the virus that caused COVID-19 leaked from a lab, after the CIA said it now favors the so-called lab leak theory over natural transmission.聽鈥淚t is extremely unlikely the pandemic was caused by a lab leak,鈥 Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters. 鈥淭his has been widely recognized by the international community, including the scientific community,鈥 she said. (Weixel and Beitsch, 1/27)
On the immigration crackdown 鈥
At least eight large public school districts across the United States have vowed in recent days to try to protect undocumented immigrant students and their families from President Donald Trump's mass deportation push. The Trump administration has removed restrictions that prevented Immigration and Customs Enforcement from conducting raids at so-called sensitive locations, including schools (as well as houses of worship and hospitals). (Edelman and Silva, 1/28)
TV host Dr. Phil shared footage of himself embedded with immigration enforcement officers as they conducted an operation in Chicago on Sunday. Newsweek reached out to the White House, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Dr. Phil's Merit Media for comment via email on Monday. The presence of a celebrity at an ICE operation is highly unusual and could signal the Trump administration's attempt to generate positive PR for its aggressive immigration crackdown. (Shoaib, 1/27)