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Democratic health policy group asks if Trump's nominee for CDC director will oppose 'RFK Jr's anti-vax agenda'

Protect Our Care, a health policy group founded by a former Obama administration health official the day after Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, has called on Dr Erica Schwartz, Trump’s latest nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to promise that she will stand up for the safety and effectiveness of vaccination.

The agency’s last Senate‑confirmed director, Susan Monarez, took over in July but was fired less than a month later after clashing with the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, over his anti-vaccine agenda.

Kayla Hancock, the director of Protect Our Care’s Public Health Project and a former head of opposition research for the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement:

After the last Senate-approved Trump CDC director was forced out because she dared to question RFK Jr.’s anti-vax agenda, the question is: will Dr. Schwartz go along with her prospective boss’ chaos and conspiracy-driven anti-vax schemes — or pledge to return the CDC to a state of normalcy that actually cares about its mission of protecting all Americans from preventable disease? A measles crisis is worsening by the day among unvaccinated people, no thanks to RFK Jr., who, for no credible reason, repeatedly told national audiences to be afraid of proven safe and effective vaccines. For the sake of our public health, the next CDC director must be free and independent to encourage as many Americans as possible to protect themselves from preventable diseases without first getting permission from the anti-vaxxer-in-chief.

Trump attacks federal judge who ordered halt to construction of his White House ballroom

Donald Trump lashed out on social media at Richard Leon, the federal judge who ordered a halt to above-ground construction of Trump’s White House ballroom, until it wins Congressional approval, accusing the Washington DC district judge appointed by George W Bush of being both “out of control” and “Trump Hating”.

Leon on Thursday had clarified that his preliminary injunction halting construction of the ballroom Trump continues to insist, despite a lack of evidence, presidents have wanted for more than 150 years, does not apply to any excavations, bunkers, military installations or underground medical facilities planned for beneath the ballroom.

As he did previously when his illegal imposition of tariffs on foreign imports was blocked by the courts, Trump has insisted that the “desperately needed” ballroom is not just a whim but is “vital for National Security”.

“The underground portion is wedded to, and serves, the upper portion, including the Bomb Shelters, a State of the Art Hospital and Medical Facilities, Protective Partitioning, Top Secret Military Installations, Structures, and Equipment, Protective Missile Resistant Steel, Columns, Roofs, and Beams, Drone Proof Ceilings and Roofs, Military Grade Venting, and Bullet, Ballistic, and Blast Proof Glass,” the president wrote on his own social media platform on Thursday.

“The Judge’s decision,” Trump argued, “severely jeopardizes the lives and welfare of the people who work, and will be working, at the White House

The president did not address the obvious question of how his life and welfare is not jeopardized by the fact that the main residence of the White House, where he spends most of his time, has none of those supposedly vital protections.

Here's a recap of the day so far

• Donald Trump has nominated Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general during his first administration, to lead the embattled Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “She is a STAR!” the president wrote on Truth Social. Schwartz will need to be confirmed by the Senate before she can officially takeover the agency that has been without a permanent director for eight months and been beset by chaos.

• Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, Robert F Kennedy Jr defended his healthcare agenda and plans to slash the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget by $15bn. At a committee hearing, Democratic lawmakers grilled the health secretary over his vaccine rollbacks in a hearing that quickly became heated. More here.

• By a vote of 224-204, the House passed a bill to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants living in the US. Ten lower chamber Republicans joined all Democrats to advance the legislation. The Trump administration has sought to end most enrollment in the program – and tried to remove the status from a string of countries. However, a district court judge blocked the administration from stripping TPS from up to 350,000 Haitians earlier this year. The legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where it would need the support 60 lawmakers in order to clear the filibuster.

• The House of Representatives backed Donald Trump’s military campaign against Iran on Thursday, narrowly voting to block a Democratic-led resolution aiming to stop the war until hostilities are authorized by Congress. The measure was defeated by 214 to 213 in the Republican-majority chamber, a day after a similar measure was blocked in the Senate for the fourth time.

• Donald Trump’s design for a 250ft triumphal arch moved a step forward on Thursday after a key agency reviewed the proposal for the first time. The US Commission of Fine Arts voted to approve the concept design for the arch. The seven commissioners, all appointed by Trump, will review an updated version of the design before taking a final vote at a future meeting. The arch is part of the president’s legacy-building quest during his second administration, which includes a White House ballroom.

Trump nominates former deputy surgeon general to lead embattled CDC

Donald Trump has nominated Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general during his first administration, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“She is a STAR!” the president wrote on Truth Social. Schwartz will need to be confirmed by the Senate before she can officially takeover the agency that has been without a permanent director for eight months and beset by chaos.

The agency’s last Senate‑confirmed director, Susan Monarez, took over in July but was fired less than a month later after clashing with Kennedy over his vaccine agenda. Since then, the CDC has seen an exodus of senior public health officials, many of whom accused the health secretary of politicizing the agency and stripping leaders of their independence.

Jay Bhattacharya – who also runs the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – has served as interim chief of the CDC since February.

Trump also announced that Sean Slovenski will become the CDC’s deputy director, while Jennifer Shuford will serve as the agency’s chief medical officer.

The president also insisted that he is “not fighting” with Pope Leo XIV.

Trump said it’s “very important” for the pope to understand that Iran is a threat to the world, before falsely claiming the pontiff said the Iranian regime “can have a nuclear weapon”.

Leo did not say that, in fact he initially said that the war was being fueled by a “delusion of omnipotence” without naming Trump. In response, the president launched a social media spat, calling the pope “weak on crime” and catering to “radical left lunatics”.

Trump also said he would be “OK” with public hearings for more Epstein survivors, as suggested by first lady Melania Trump last week.

“But I understand the women didn’t want to go under oath. That’s what I heard,” the president told reporters today. “So Melania felt strongly about it, because she was accused that I met her through Epstein. But it turned out to be totally false.”

Trump says first lady issued surprise statement about Epstein because of 'fake news'

As the president left Washington, to travel to Las Vegas, he spoke to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House.

When asked why first lady Melania Trump issued an apparently umprompted televised statement last week that she “never had a relationship” with Jeffrey Epstein or his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, Donald Trump said she made her remarks because “the fake news said she did, and she had none, and I think that’s been proven.”

The president said his wife was “bothered” by the “fake news being the fake news” and she “just wanted to clarify”

House passes bill to extend TPS for Haitian immigrants

By a vote of 224-204, the House passed a bill to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants living in the US. Ten lower chamber Republicans joined all Democrats to advance the legislation, which was brought to the floor via a discharge petition on Wednesday.

A reminder that TPS provides relief to people already in the US if their home countries experience a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary events. The Trump administration has sought to end most enrollment in the program – and tried to strip the status from a string of countries, including Haiti, Somalia and Venezuela – saying it runs counter to US interests. However, many of these attempts have been challenged and blocked in federal court.

In February, a district court judge blocked the Trump administration from stripping TPS from up to 350,000 Haitians in the US.

The bill, however, faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where it will need the support 60 lawmakers in order to clear the filibuster.

Fisa bill remains in limbo as Johnson tries to convince hardliners

A bill to extend section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa) remains in limbo in the US House, as Republican speaker Mike Johnson tries to rally his fractured conference to pass the bill which authorizes intelligence agencies to collect communications of foreign nationals outside the US, without the need for warrants or court orders.

Without an extension, the provision will expire next week. Johnson told Punchbowl News that the splintered GOP will have “a conclusion on that” shortly. “We’re working through a couple remaining issues,” he added. A number of hardline Republicans and many Democrats have pushed back against the Fisa bill, arguing that any extension must protect Americans’ privacy and are demanding reforms.

It’s unclear whether Johnson will tee-up a procedural vote on the bill today, or hold off as negotiations continue with members of this own party. Donald Trump, for his part, has weighed in, calling for Republicans to “unify” and pass a “clean” extension of section 702, despite lambasting the provision in the past.

Joseph Gedeon

The Trump administration has moved to formally enlist foreign governments in a sweeping reorientation of global development policy, directing American diplomats worldwide to seek official support for a “trade over aid” declaration before its introduction at the United Nations later this month.

This would mean a move away from direct aid to poor nations in favor of increased trade, led by private companies.

Principal deputy spokesperson at the state department Tommy Pigott confirmed the initiative on Wednesday, framing it as a rejection of what he called a failed aid model. “The idea that trade and free market capitalism is the surest path to prosperity has been proven by the facts and by history,” Pigott said, adding that those calling for “aid not trade” were “really arguing for lining the pockets of a corrupt NGO industrial complex”.

The new posturing was first reported by the development publication Devex on Tuesday, and the full internal US diplomatic cable was obtained by the Washington Post on Wednesday. The initiative described in the cable is an attack on the obligation of wealthy nations to provide tens of billions of dollars in annual foreign assistance, alongside what the Trump administration characterizes as an endorsement of free-market principles as the primary vehicle for global development.

Ambassador Mike Waltz also previewed the effort during testimony before the Senate foreign relations committee on Tuesday.

Suozzi pushes Kennedy on White House proposal to cut health department budget

Representative Tom Suozzi, the moderate Democrat from New York, grilled Kennedy about the White House budget request for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which seeks to cut more than $15bn for the 2027 fiscal year, while asking for $441bn more in defense department funding.

“The president is making a lot of tough decisions, and he’s making tough decisions because of problems that he inherited,” Kennedy said, defending the blueprint that will kickstart appropriations talks on Capitol Hill.

“You say he’s not cutting Medicaid. Nobody buys that,” Suozzi replied. “I want to be bipartisan. I want to work together. I’ve applauded you on some of the things that you’re doing that are good, but how does it square that he’s increasing the defense budget by 500 billion and cutting money for NIH and CDC?”

The health secretary insisted that Donald Trump has done “more to protect public health any president” and blamed Democrats for what he describes as a “chronic disease epidemic”.

“All happened in the past four years of the Biden administration?” Suozzi snapped back

Melody Schreiber

Kennedy’s hearing before the House Ways and Means committee is back from recess. An explosive moment took place a short while ago. Representative Steven Horsford, a Democrat from Nevada, spoke about his constituents’ struggle to access health care. “Calm down, congressman,” Kennedy said.

“Don’t tell me to calm down. Health care is personal to me,” Horsford said. “If you can’t answer basic questions, then maybe come prepared next time.”

Kennedy responded that Horsford was getting upset because he didn’t “have much to say”.

RFK Jr’s hearing is now in recess so lawmakers can cast votes.

Earlier, the health and human services secretary had a heated exchange with Democratic representative Terri Sewell, of Alabama, who pressed Kennedy on his reported remarks that black children would benefit from “wellness farms” where they could be “re-parented” while weaning off psychiatric medications.

“Every black kid is now just standard put on Adderall, on SSRIs, benzos, which are known to induce violence, and those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get re-parented, to live in a community where there’ll be no cellphones, no screens,” Kennedy reportedly said on the 19Keys podcast in June 2024. “You’ll actually have to talk to people.”

Today, Kennedy said he doubted he said that, adding that he didn’t know what “re-parent” means.

“Our nation has a long and painful history of separating Black children from their families,” Sewell said, referring to slavery, Jim Crow laws and systemic racial discrimination in policing and child welfare.

House Republicans narrowly block latest bid to rein in Trump Iran war powers

The House of Representatives backed Donald Trump’s military campaign against Iran on Thursday, narrowly voting to block a Democratic-led resolution aiming to stop the war until hostilities are authorized by Congress.

The measure was defeated by 214 to 213 in the Republican-majority chamber, a day after a similar measure was blocked in the Senate for the fourth time. The vote was almost exclusively along party lines, with every Republican except one (Thomas Massie) opposing the resolution, and one (Warren Davidson) voting present. One Democrat (Jared Golden) voted against it.

Federal law requires congressional approval to continue military actions for more than 60 days. The US-Israeli war on Iran began on 28 February. Some Senate Republicans signaled yesterday that they may reassess their thinking on this issue if the war reaches 60 days.

Further to that, Trump has said he’s invited the leaders of Israel and Lebanon to the White House for the countries’ first high-level talks since 1983.

He wrote on Truth Social:

In addition to the statement just issued, I will be inviting the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, to the White House for the first meaningful talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983, a very long time ago.

Both sides want to see PEACE, and I believe that will happen, quickly!

Trump announces Israel-Lebanon 10 day ceasefire

A short while ago, Donald Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon will begin a ten-day ceasefire from 5pm EST.

In a post on Truth Social, he said he had spoken to the leaders of both countries today and claimed this would be the “tenth war” he has “solved”.

He wrote:

I just had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel. These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST.

On Tuesday, the two Countries met for the first time in 34 years here in Washington, D.C., with our Great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. I have directed Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, together with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Razin’ Caine, to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a Lasting PEACE.

It has been my Honor to solve 9 Wars across the World, and this will be my 10th, so let’s, GET IT DONE!

Israel, meanwhile, has no plans to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon during the ceasefire, an Israeli security official has told Reuters.

Israel’s punishing bombing campaign and ground invasion of Lebanon has killed more than 2,100 people, injured over 7,100 and displaced over 1.2 million.

My colleague Tom Ambrose is blogging all the latest developments:

Melody Schreiber

Back at Robert F Kennedy Jr’s hearing, representative Blake Moore, a Republican from Utah, spoke of his 10-year-old, Winnie, who is neurodivergent.

When the Trump administration incorrectly said Tylenol use in pregnancy causes autism, he said, “My wife was hurt.” She felt responsible, though they don’t recall if she even took the pain reliever during pregnancy.

“That was a hurtful moment for her,” Moore said, before encouraging Kennedy to continue looking for the causes of autism, which research shows has a strong genetic component.

During his hearing before House lawmakers, Robert F Kennedy Jr faced questions about the decision by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to end the universal recommendation for the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

Congresswoman Judy Chu, a California Democrat, pushed the health secretary about the move, calling it “incredibly harmful”. Many doctors, including Republican senator Bill Cassidy, a liver specialist by training, have warned that universal innoculation is incredibly effective since hepatits B is very infectious for children and can lead to long-term complications.

Kennedy, however, maintained that babies “essentially have zero risk unless their mother is infected”.

The health secretary said that “parents can assess the risk themselves” and the “state should not make that choice for them”.

Medical experts warn that a negative test result during pregnancy does not guarantee the child will not be infected with the hepatitis B. They point to both false negative results, but also the posibilty that mothers could contract the virus after screening.