ASPPH has released a new fact sheet detailing the sweeping impacts of proposed and enacted funding cuts to key public health federal agencies: the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). These agencies are central to ASPPH’s FY 26 funding priorities and vital to the health and strength of the academic public health enterprise. The document also highlights the steps ASPPH has taken in response to these funding cuts.

A broader economic impact report from ASPPH will follow later this week. 

Why it matters:

• Cuts to NIH, CDC, HRSA, AHRQ, and USAID jeopardize public health research, education, workforce development, and community preparedness.
• Schools and programs of public health risk losing critical funding, partnerships, and training pipelines essential to long-term institutional sustainability.
   

What ASPPH is doing:

• Joined the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in a lawsuit which led to a permanent injunction against NIH’s Facilities & Administration cap policy.
• Mobilized a Capitol Hill Day where ASPPH members advocated for these agencies with their delegations, organized calls to action urging support for key public health programs, issued public statements on the impact of these cuts,  joined coalition letters opposing the FY 26 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget proposal and agency dismantling plan.

The United States House of Representatives has begun advancing its reconciliation package, a cornerstone of President Trump’s tax agenda. The process opened with movement on the energy and public lands portion, and more components, which will mostly impact Medicaid, are slated for review in the coming weeks. House leadership has set a deadline of Memorial Day for finalizing the reconciliation package, but it appears that deadline is slipping. 
 
Energy Section Advances:

• Last Wednesday, the House Natural Resources Committee approved its portion of the package, authorizing expanded oil, gas, coal, and mineral leasing on federal lands, projected to raise over $18 billion in revenue. A surprise amendment added late in the markup allows the sale of 10,000 acres of public land in Nevada and Utah, drawing sharp criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans.

What’s Coming Up:

• The House Energy and Commerce Committee (E&C) will take up proposed Medicaid and health care reforms this week after delaying their markup for final negotiations. The E&C Committee aims to identify $880 billion in savings, with a significant portion of the funds expected to come from Medicaid.
• According to new estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, Medicaid rollback options under discussion could lead to major coverage losses affecting up to 8.6 million people, depending on the policy, by cutting federal funding through caps, eliminating provider tax schemes, and rolling back enrollment rules. This would reduce states’ resources and likely force them to limit benefits, lower provider payments, and reduce enrollment.
• GOP leaders aim to bring the full reconciliation bill to the House floor the week of May 19, with tax and border policy sections still in development.

President Trump has withdrawn his nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to serve as US Surgeon General and has selected Dr. Casey Means in her place. Means, a Stanford-educated physician and co-founder of health tech company Levels, is closely aligned with the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement led by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. President Trump praised Means as a champion of metabolic health and chronic disease prevention, calling her “one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History.” Nesheiwat, meanwhile, will reportedly take another role within HHS.

Nomination Fallout:

• Dr. Nesheiwat faced backlash after reports questioned her medical school credentials, revealing a discrepancy between her stated and actual alma mater.
• Her confirmation prospects were further harmed by opposition from MAGA-aligned influencers, including Laura Loomer, ahead of a planned Senate HELP Committee hearing.

Meet Dr. Casey Means:

• Dr. Means promotes a public health approach focused on reversing chronic illness through metabolic health, a central tenet of the MAHA movement.
• Some have pointed out that her medical license is lapsed and that she has promoted misinformation about childhood vaccinations.
• Her brother, Calley Means, an HHS special government employee and ally to Kennedy, celebrated her nomination and emphasized her alignment with President Trump’s health agenda.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is slated to appear before the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on May 14 to justify sweeping budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration. It marks his first public testimony since his contentious confirmation.
 
Why it matters:

• The proposed fiscal 2026 budget slashes funding to key agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), raising bipartisan concern over public health priorities.
• HELP Committee Chair, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who backed Kennedy’s confirmation despite some concerns, has demanded accountability on vaccine safety and departmental changes.

 What to watch:

• Kennedy is weighing new placebo trials for vaccine approvals and may pull the COVID-19 shot from the childhood vaccine schedule, potentially delaying this fall’s booster.
• Lawmakers are expected to question his overhaul of HHS, which has included mass layoffs and closure of high-impact programs amid a major measles outbreak.

Dr. Jeffery Taubenberger, a leading expert on the 1918 flu pandemic, has been named acting director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) following Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo’s departure. His appointment comes as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) undergoes major leadership changes under NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya. Several other senior officials have also been reassigned or stepped into acting roles.

Why Taubenberger Matters: 

• Dr. Taubenberger, known for sequencing the 1918 influenza virus, will lead NIAID during heightened concern over a US avian flu outbreak. His decades of virology expertise are seen as critical for navigating emerging infectious disease threats. 

Other Key Acting Appointments: 

• NIH also named Dr. Courtney Aklin (National Institute of Nursing Research), Dr. Alison Cernich (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development), Dr. Monica Webb Hooper (National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities), Dr. Andrea Beckel-Mitchener (National Institute of Mental Health), and Dr. Carolyn Hutter (National Human Genome Research Institute) as acting directors.

As the US reports nearly 1,000 measles cases across multiple states so far this year, most Americans say they have encountered false claims about the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. A new KFF Tracking Poll shows that many people are unsure what to believe, and those who lean toward misinformation are significantly less likely to keep their children up to date on routine vaccinations.

What People Are Hearing and Believing: 

• According to the KFF poll, about 63% of adults say they’ve heard the debunked claim linking the MMR vaccine to autism. While just 5% say it’s “definitely true,” half express uncertainty, calling it “probably true” or “probably false.” A quarter of adults and a third of parents lean toward believing at least one false claim, and those parents are more than twice as likely to have skipped or delayed vaccines for their kids. 

Confidence vs. Confusion: 

• Despite rising misinformation, 83% of adults and 78% of parents still express confidence in the MMR vaccine’s safety, though confidence drops among Republicans and Republican-leaning parents. Meanwhile, only 51% of adults say they are aware that measles cases are increasing, with awareness and concern split sharply along political lines.

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