Trump Administration Plots Massive Budget Cuts That 'Would Destroy Public Health'
Ellie Murray, an independent epidemiologist, warned on social media that "a cut that big would destroy public health."
The administration is also pushing to consolidate departments and programs under the newly announced Administration for a Healthy America (AHA), an initiative spearheaded by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who is overseeing large-scale firings at his agency that critics say endanger the well-being of children and families across the U.S.
CNNnoted that as part of a sweeping attack on public health agencies, the proposal "eliminates CDC's global health center and programs focused on chronic disease prevention, and domestic HIV/AIDS prevention."
"While some of the agency's work would be moved into new AHA centers, programs on gun violence, injury prevention, youth violence prevention, drowning, minority health, and others would be eliminated entirely," CNN continued. "The proposal would also eliminate a number of rural health programs at HHS, including grants and residency programs for rural hospitals and state offices."
Thomas Farley, a pediatrician and public health researcher, called the proposal "a bloodbath" and highlighted what he called "stunning examples" of the kinds of initiatives in the administration's crosshairs, including the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and "newborn screening programs for genetic diseases and hearing loss."
"Call your representative and send a copy of this proposed act of abject cruelty to them," Farley urged.
Members of the Democratic caucus in Congress immediately vowed to fight the proposed budget cuts, which come as the administration is gutting health agency staff and working with Republicans to slash Medicaid.
"President Trump promised to fight for the working class, but instead he, Elon Musk, and RFK Jr. are attacking the programs and services that keep middle class, working class, and vulnerable families safe and healthy in order to pay for tax cuts for billionaires," Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement, warning that the administration's budget blueprint would condemn "Americans to preventable disease and death."
"If this dangerous budget was ever enacted, communities across the United States would suffer," said DeLauro. "The Trump administration is aiming to further eviscerate the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration—agencies that boost public health, protect Americans from infectious diseases, lead the world in biomedical research, and help keep our food and drugs safe. President Trump and RFK Jr. want to eliminate programs focused on chronic disease, substance abuse treatment, and mental health services that save lives."
Trump and his allies, including world's richest man Elon Musk, have cast their push for large-scale funding cuts across the federal government as a necessary bid to eliminate waste and abuse.
But as the president targets programs such as Head Start—which cost the federal government roughly $12 billion in fiscal year 2024—he is pursuing a record $1 trillion for the U.S. military, a hotbed of waste and fraud.
"Your budget proposal is morally obscene," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote in a message to the White House late last week. "It must be defeated."
