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public health
Trump Executive Order Would Defund Schools That Require Covid Vaccines
Although the move was "largely symbolic" due to lack of such mandates, one expert still warned it is "legitimization of anti-science and anti-vax noise."
Feb 14, 2025
Amid fears of what U.S. President Donald Trump's second term will mean for global health and public education, the Republican on Friday signed an executive order to defund schools that require Covid-19 vaccination for students.
Trump's order bars federal funding "from being used to support or subsidize an educational service agency, state education agency, local education agency, elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education that requires students to have received a Covid-19 vaccination to attend in-person education programs," according to a White House fact sheet.
The order, first reported by Breitbart News, also directs the secretaries of education and health and human services (HHS) to develop a plan "to end coercive Covid-19 vaccine mandates, including a report on noncompliant entities and a process for preventing federal funds from supporting educational entities that impose Covid-19 vaccine mandates."
While signing the order in the Oval Office, Trump—who was president during the onset of the pandemic and has received intense criticism for his handling of the public health crisis—said, "OK, that solves that problem."
The White House claimed that "parents are being forced into a difficult position: comply with a controversial mandate or risk their child's educational future." However, according toABC News, Trump's move was actually "largely symbolic" considering that no states currently require K-12 students to have the Covid shots.
The Associated Pressreported that "some colleges started requiring students to be immunized against Covid-19 during the pandemic, but most have dropped the requirements. A few continue to require vaccines at least for students living on campus, including Swarthmore and Oberlin colleges. Most of those colleges allow medical or religious exemptions."
As ABC noted:
One open question is whether the new administration could opt to go beyond Covid vaccines and put pressure on schools to drop requirements for other vaccines.
Currently, all 50 states mandate that students receive certain vaccinations, including to prevent the measles. Many states, however, offer religious exemptions.
"This is anti-vax pandering," Timothy Caulfield, a professor focused on public health and law at Canada's University of Alberta, said of Trump's order. "Still worrisome, however. It is yet more normalization and legitimization of anti-science and anti-vax noise."
The new measure came a day after Senate Republicans voted to confirm vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS secretary and Trump signed another executive order establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission.
Also on Thursday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a confirmation hearing for Linda McMahon, the billionaire GOP megadonor and former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO nominated to serve as education secretary, even though Trump has signaled that he ultimately intends to fully dismantle the department.
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Senate Confirms 'Profoundly Unqualified' RFK Jr. to Lead Nation's Health Agencies
"No senator should have voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr.," said one consumer advocate.
Feb 13, 2025
The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to confirm vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to lead the nation's health policy, a move that one advocate said puts "our entire healthcare system and countless patient lives in jeopardy."
"This is a shameful day for the U.S. Senate, an institution that likes to laud itself for its careful deliberation and seriousness of purpose," said Robert Weissman, co-president of government watchdog Public Citizen. "No senator should have voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Every single senator knows he's not just profoundly unqualified to head the nation's health agency but a threat to public health in the nation."
Every Democratic senator voted against Kennedy's confirmation to lead President Donald Trump's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), while Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was the only Republican to oppose Kennedy. McConnell survived polio as a child and said Kennedy's "record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories" about vaccines influenced his decision.
The confirmation followed Senate hearings in which Kennedy had nothing negative to say about the country's for-profit health insurance system, which has made insurers increasingly wealthy as patients' healthcare treatments are denied and delayed.
He insisted that Americans "would prefer to be on private insurance" and displayed a lack of knowledge about Medicaid and Medicare, appearing to confuse the two. He also denied being anti-vaccine while refusing to reject the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism, a failure that Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who is a physician, claimed to be troubled by—but Cassidy went ahead with his vote for Kennedy nonetheless.
"Senators who rubber stamp this dangerous nomination in fear of an angry tweet from President Trump cannot later feign concern and surprise when Kennedy's actions end up harming everyday Americans. They, too, will own the consequences."
"Any vote to confirm Kennedy to lead HHS is a vote to put our public health at risk, and senators know it," said Tony Carrk, executive director of government watchdog Accountable.US. "The war Kennedy is itching to wage against vaccines and scientific research will undoubtedly cost lives and could lead to the resurgence of diseases once thought dormant."
"Among the last people who should be overseeing our public health is Kennedy, with his non-existent health policy credentials, embrace of ludicrous conspiracies, and judgment so lacking that he potentially committed felony voter fraud despite courts warning him not to," Carrk added, referring to Accountable's accusation that Kennedy cast a ballot last year from an address that wasn't his. "Senators who rubber stamp this dangerous nomination in fear of an angry tweet from President Trump cannot later feign concern and surprise when Kennedy's actions end up harming everyday Americans. They, too, will own the consequences."
During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy angered officials in Samoa, where he spread anti-vaccine conspiracy theories just before 83 people died of measles in a 2019 outbreak. Samoa's director-general of health, Alec Ekeroma, accused Kennedy of "a total fabrication" when he told senators many of the people who died didn't have measles.
Before the Senate voted on Thursday, Ekeroma said Kennedy's confirmation to lead U.S. health agencies, which control funding for international health and vaccine initiatives as well as domestic policy, would be "a danger to us, a danger to everyone."
Weissman credited many Democratic senators for their "truly heroic efforts... to rally opposition against this dangerous nominee," and warned that "it will fall on the American people to confront his lies and policies and to defend basic public health principles and institutions."
"We should expect Robert F. Kennedy to continue spreading his conspiracies, anti-vaccine propaganda, and anti-science crusade," said Weissman. "We should expect him to deliver on his promises to sabotage our public health institutions. And we should expect him to enable and facilitate the effort to slash health care coverage for lower-income people, privatize Medicare, and undermine the subsidies and consumer protections on the Affordable Care Act exchanges."
Kennedy has claimed that he has "often disturbed the status quo by asking uncomfortable questions," but advocacy group Patients for Affordable Drugs noted that he provided little information in his confirmation hearings about how he would challenge Big Pharma by lowering drug prices and defending the Medicare negotiations introduced by former President Joe Biden.
"Secretary Kennedy has a critical opportunity—and responsibility—to build on existing measures to rein in Big Pharma's price-gouging and lower drug costs for patients," said Merith Basey, the group's executive director. "We are ready to work with him to ensure Medicare drug price negotiations continue, out-of-pocket costs are reduced, and competition in the marketplace is increased through reforms to end abusive pharmaceutical monopolies that harm patients."
"But make no mistake," added Basey. "Patients fought hard to secure the 2022 prescription drug law, and we will fiercely oppose any efforts to weaken it."
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Democratic Senators to Trump and DOGE: 'Hands Off' Medicare, Medicaid
"We strongly oppose any efforts by Musk—or anyone else in your administration—cutting or damaging these vital programs," the lawmakers wrote.
Feb 12, 2025
Amid mounting concerns over Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency's unprecedented access to payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services—and wider fears that the Trump administration and congressional Republicans will slash spending on crucial public programs—Democratic U.S. senators on Wednesday wrote to President Donald Trump, urging him not to cut more holes in the nation's social safety net.
"We write to say no to Elon Musk and DOGE, and demand hands off Medicare or Medicaid. We strongly oppose any efforts by Musk—or anyone else in your administration—cutting or damaging these vital programs," Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the minority leader, wrote in a letter to Trump signed by two dozen other Democratic senators and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
"Medicare and Medicaid must not be raided to pay for tax cuts for billionaires."
"Medicare and Medicaid must not be raided to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Every cut risks Americans paying more, waiting longer, and wading through more insurance red tape for care," the senators added. "Every cut risks hospitals and community health centers struggling harder to keep their doors open and forcing health providers and workers out of their jobs."
"It is dangerously unacceptable that an unelected Musk and his unqualified acolytes have access to sensitive CMS systems and are ready to bypass Congress to make life-and-death decisions affecting millions of Americans," they argued. "No one asked for this lawless approach to our critical government healthcare systems. We urge you to stop this threat to Americans' healthcare, now."
The letter states:
We continue to fight for a healthcare system that works better for all Americans, so they experience lower costs, shorter wait times, and receive better care. But your administration, Elon Musk, and DOGE have already made that harder. Your administration is already responsible for the shutdown of Medicaid portals across all 50 states, disruptions to vital healthcare communication, closures of community health centers, and significant delays in funding for lifesaving health research. Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid will only serve to deepen the harm.
The lawmakers' letter came on the same day that House Republicans introduced a draft budget resolution that recommends $4.5 trillion in tax breaks that would disproportionately benefit the ultrarich, while slashing $2 trillion to Medicaid, federal nutrition assistance, and other programs.
"Republicans are pulling a fast one on working people by reaching into their pockets to pay for billionaire handouts," Warren said in response to the Republican proposal. "Make no mistake: This GOP plan will raise the cost that American families pay for groceries, healthcare, and getting an education—all to fund tax cuts for the ultrarich."
A survey published Tuesday by Data For Progress, Student Borrower Protection Center, and Groundwork Collaborative reaffirmed the deep unpopularity of slashing spending on social services.
NEW with @groundwork.bsky.social work and @thesbpc.bsky.social: Rather than give tax breaks to corporations and wealthy households, voters want programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP to be protected or expanded. www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2025/2/...
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— Data for Progress (@dataforprogress.org) February 11, 2025 at 1:10 PM
"The poll shows that many government programs are very popular with likely voters: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] each have support from more than 3 in 4 respondents," Data for Progress said.
"Voters support increasing funding for Social Security and Medicare, and few want to see cuts to other popular government programs, the pollster added. "Over 80% of voters want to increase funding or keep funding the same for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP."
Earlier this week, lawmakers, advocates, and beneficiaries of safety net programs gathered outside the Social Security Administration headquarters in Maryland to tell Musk "hands off" Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Speakers included the state's two Democratic senators, Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen, who both also signed the Wednesday letter to Trump.
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