While only being in office for one month, President Trump has pressed forward with his plan to rework the federal government. A slew of Executive Orders sought to freeze all (and then some) federal funding, dramatically downsize the federal workforce, and target core abilities for research agencies and institutions to dispense and manage grant funding. A slew of subsequent lawsuits has created a patchwork of legal rulings and ongoing court cases. Uncertainty remains and it is unclear how long current disruptions will persist and what any long-term damage to the US biomedical research enterprise and global completeness might be. It is important to note that recent administration attacks on NIH and medical research drew the first rebukes from prominent Republicans in Congress, citing concerns over damage to local economies and disruption to critical research advancing national interests.
On Capitol Hill, the Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in a (largely) party-line vote that capped off a divisive confirmation process. Shorty after, a Make America Healthy Again commission was announced by the White House. Congress also began work on a massive budget reconciliation package that could outline deep cuts to entitlement programs and discretionary spending. The House is moving forward with a single bill while the Senate is working on a two-bill approach. There are already headwinds though as Republican holdouts in the House can effectively stymie the process due to the extremely slim majority in the chamber.
More urgently, Congress will need to pass some form of spending bill or another continuing appropriations resolution (CR) to keep the government open and operating past March 14th (when the current CR is set to expire). Any package will almost certainly require Democrat votes and bipartisan support at a time when progressive lawmakers are increasingly vocal and displeased with the actions of the White House and congressional Republicans.
By: Dane Christiansen, Washington Reprensentative