Happy Tuesday! President Donald Trump kicked off the first week of his second term with sweeping changes to U.S. health care and federal health agencies.
Here are a few of the biggest changes we saw last week:
U.S. exit from the WHO
Trump signed an executive order to start to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization, citing what he described as a "mishandling" of the Covid-19 pandemic and other international health crises. In 2021, the Biden administration halted Trump's first formal attempt at a U.S. exit from the WHO.
The implications for the U.S. could be significant: the WHO serves as a first alert system when a new disease outbreak occurs, which helps member countries quickly obtain the necessary information to help their citizens. The U.S. is also expected to lose access to the WHO's global network that sets the flu vaccine's composition each year. But the WHO will feel the effects of Trump's decision even more, as the U.S. is its largest donor and offers extensive technical expertise to the agency.
On Saturday, however, Trump said he may reconsider joining the WHO.
"Maybe we would consider doing it again, I don't know. Maybe we would. They would have to clean it up," Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas.
Anti-abortion policies reinstated
Trump on Friday issued an executive order that reinstated a long-standing Republican anti-abortion proposal known as the "Mexico City Policy," which bars federal funding from going to any overseas nongovernmental organization that performs or promotes abortions.
The rule was first put in place by President Ronald Reagan and has been rescinded by every Democratic president — and reimplemented by every Republican one — since then.
Also on Friday, Trump revoked two Biden administration executive orders that sought to expand access to abortions in the U.S.
HHS cease all communications
The Trump administration told federal health agencies to pause external communications for now, several outlets reported last week. This includes the agencies that fall under the Department of Health and Human Services, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.
A memo sent to leadership at federal health agencies noted the communication hiatus will extend through Feb. 1, ABC News reported, citing an internal CDC audio recording.
Resources from the department, such as the CDC's decades-old weekly public health publication, have been put on hold.
Some staffers at health agencies are also temporarily banned from traveling and have been told to stop work with the WHO, ABC reported.
Drug pricing models rescinded
Trump rescinded an executive order from the Biden administration that created three drug pricing models aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs for people on Medicare and Medicaid.
The Biden administration announced the proposals in February 2023, but they had not been implemented. They included a $2 monthly out-of-pocket cap on certain generic drugs and lower costs for cell and gene therapies.
Biden's major health-care initiatives under the Inflation Reduction Act, including the $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cap on prescription drugs and the Medicare drug price negotiation program, were not affected by Trump's executive actions.
DEI, discrimination protections scrapped
Trump issued an executive order on his first day to end all federal government initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion. He also moved to end a range of policies that aimed to protect rights for LGBTQ+ people.
Trump specifically signed an executive order proclaiming that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes, male and female. It essentially attempts to end legal recognition of transgender and nonbinary people under federal law.
It requires that the federal government use the term "sex" instead of "gender," and directs the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to "require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder's sex."
In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union said the gender order requires federal agencies to "discriminate against transgender people by denying who they are and threatening the freedom of self-determination and self-expression for all."
