{"id":1505,"date":"2025-01-27T15:10:42","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T15:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.hhs.com\/?p=1505"},"modified":"2025-01-27T15:10:42","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T15:10:42","slug":"trump-administration-wraps-up-first-week-back-in-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.hhs.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/27\/trump-administration-wraps-up-first-week-back-in-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Administration Wraps Up First Week Back in Office"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trump Administration Wraps Up First Week Back in Office \u2013 <\/strong>President Donald Trump officially began his second presidential term last week. Upon taking office on Monday, the President signed an initial slate of more than two dozen executive orders (E.O.s), with fewer pertaining to health care than had been expected. The Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions<\/em><\/a> rescinds 78 Biden-era executive actions, including E.O.s related to the COVID-19 response, health equity, Medicaid, Affordable Care Act coverage, prescription drug costs, and artificial intelligence. President Trump\u2019s Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to The Federal Government<\/em><\/a> E.O. declares that there are only two biological sexes, male and female, and will prevent taxpayer funding from being used for gender-transition health care. In addition to signing an E.O.<\/a> reaffirming the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal money for abortion, the Trump administration also issued a memo<\/a> reviving the so-called Mexico City Policy. Under this policy, international nonprofit organizations that receive U.S. federal funding must certify that they do not provide or promote abortion services or counseling.<\/p>\n

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President Trump also signed an order<\/a> to start the process of withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO). Under the terms of the United States\u2019 WHO membership, withdrawal must be preceded by a one-year notice period along with continued payment of U.S. financial obligations. Former President Joe Biden previously reversed the first Trump administration\u2019s decision to withdraw from WHO before the notice period expired. President Trump has criticized the global health body for its failure to contain COVID-19 and its deference to China during the pandemic. The U.S. is one of the largest funding sources for the international aid and disease response group, contributing approximately 19% of WHO\u2019s total revenue. As a result of the order, WHO is freezing hiring, suspending investments, and halting non-essential travel. The E.O. will also have widespread implications for how the U.S. surveils and responds to international disease outbreaks.<\/p>\n

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Federal websites related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) were taken offline by the new administration last week, and all federal DEI workers were placed on paid leave. The Office of Personnel Management informed federal agencies that it is working to close all agency DEI offices and end related contracts. The Trump administration also took action ordering federal employees to return to in-office work and issuing temporary, government-wide freezes on hiring and regulatory activity. Finally, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is under a department-wide pause on all external communications that are not directly related to emergencies or critical to preserving health. The communications directive, which will be in place through February 1, has led to the cancelation of federal advisory committee meetings and public speaking engagements. Restrictions have also been placed on travel and hiring by the National Institutes of Health. According to an HHS spokesperson, exemptions to the freezes can be made on a case-by-case basis for \u201cmission critical\u201d issues.<\/p>\n

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Trump Administration Personnel Update \u2013 <\/strong>Senate-wide votes have begun in the process to confirm President Donald Trump\u2019s executive nominees. The chamber confirmed Marco Rubio as Secretary of State in a 99-0 vote on Monday, John Ratcliffe as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in a 74-25 vote on Thursday, and Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense in a 50-50 vote on Friday (with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote). The Senate remained in session on Saturday in a show of frustration by Republicans over Democrats\u2019 refusal to fast-track confirmation of the President\u2019s nominees, confirming Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security in a 59-34 vote. Doug Collins\u2019 nomination to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs was advanced by the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee in a near unanimous vote on Thursday. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) was the only panel member to vote against Collins\u2019 nomination. She expressed concerns about the nominee\u2019s stance on abortion and the potential reversal of a Biden administration policy allowing the Veterans Health Administration to offer abortions in certain circumstances.<\/p>\n

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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s financial disclosure forms were released last week. The forms indicate that Kennedy has stopped his anti-vaccine legal and advocacy work but is still expecting to profit from book publications that raise questions about vaccine efficacy. Kennedy will appear before the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, and before the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee for a courtesy hearing on Thursday. The Finance Committee will ultimately vote on whether Kennedy\u2019s nomination is advanced to the Senate floor. \u00a0Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who sits on the Finance Committee, sent a letter<\/a> to the HHS nominee last week requesting he answer a list of 175 questions ahead of his confirmation hearing. Warren expresses concern about Kennedy\u2019s \u201cdangerous views on vaccine safety and public health,\u201d including \u201cbaseless opposition to vaccines\u201d and \u201cinconsistent statements in important policy areas like reproductive rights access.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The White House also began choosing acting leadership to head federal agencies while confirmation proceedings take place in the Senate. Health officials recently tapped by the Trump administration to serve as acting agency heads include:<\/p>\n