Everything This Administration Has Done to Undermine Public Health
A running list of actions by the Trump administration that are actively deepening inequality, dismantling public health systems, and making Americans less healthy.
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From the very beginning, this administration’s actions have run directly counter to the idea of Making America Healthy Again. I’ve covered many of these decisions over the past five months, often as they unfolded in real time. But earlier today, I got a DM asking if I had a detailed list of everything this administration has done that undermines public health, and I realized I didn’t have one centralized place where it all lives.
So here it is — a running list of policies, executive orders, and administrative actions that run directly counter to making America healthy and actively harm public health. Some are headline-grabbing. Many are buried in agency memos, budget proposals, and restructuring plans that fly under the radar. Taken together, they make it demonstrably clear that this administration isn’t making America healthier. It’s making it sicker, more unequal, and more vulnerable.
Food Assistance & Nutrition Access
Eliminated USDA’s local food program connecting farmers to schools.
Eliminated USDA’s Farm-to-Food Bank program that helped food banks source fresh, local food.
Cut funding for the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program, which supported hands-on nutrition education and local food sourcing in schools.
Proposed $1.3B cuts to WIC, slashing fruit and vegetable benefits for at-risk women, infants, and children.
Proposed over $300 billion in SNAP cuts, which could result in 3.2 million individuals losing access to nutrition assistance.
Halted USDA food deliveries to food banks, worsening supply during high demand.
Defunded SNAP-Ed, reducing nutrition education for low-income families.
Food Safety & Regulation Rollbacks
FDA budget cuts paired with plans to shift food inspections to state agencies, weakening oversight and consistency.
Massive staff cuts at the FDA, including food safety scientists and inspectors — an estimated one-third of the food safety workforce has been let go.
Cut food toxicologist staff at FDA responsible for evaluating chemical risks in the food supply.
Jim Jones, former EPA official and head of FDA’s Human Foods Program, resigned in protest, stating he could no longer protect the food supply under the current conditions.
Suspended the Food Emergency Response Network’s proficiency testing program, limiting early detection of foodborne threats.
Paused milk quality testing during the bird flu outbreak, raising public safety concerns.
Eliminated USDA food safety advisory committees, silencing key scientific voices on foodborne risks.
Proposed permanent increases in meat processing line speeds, ignoring warnings from labor and food safety experts.
Continued deregulatory mandates requiring agencies to eliminate ten existing regulations for every new one introduced, undermining long-term food safety infrastructure.
Scientific Research & Public Health Infrastructure
Proposed $18B in NIH cuts; plan to consolidate 27 research centers.
Froze new NIH grants and terminated 694 existing awards totaling $1.81 billion, disrupting research on cancer, HIV, ALS, and other critical health issues.
Halted all federal grant funding via OMB memo (later withdrawn under court pressure).
Barred NIH subawards to foreign institutions, cutting off international research partnerships.
Removed 8,000+ public-facing federal health and science webpages, including datasets on youth risk behavior, reproductive health, and environmental hazards.
Announced a major restructuring of HHS with a plan to eliminate 20,000 positions, weakening the workforce behind public health programs and research infrastructure.
Eliminated CDC’s Division of Environmental Health Services and Practices, which included programs addressing childhood lead poisoning, asthma, safe water, radiation exposure, and climate-related health risks.
Eliminated all NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) programs except for the World Trade Center and Black Lung Disease programs, gutting workplace safety and occupational health research.
Proposed elimination of the Head Start program, disrupting early education, health screenings, and nutrition services for low-income families.
Proposed elimination of the Healthy Start, a proven program that reduces maternal and infant mortality by employing women in low-income communities to provide health education and support for pregnant and postpartum families.
Eliminated the CDC Division of Oral Health, ending federal support for preventing tooth decay and promoting dental health in underserved communities.
Pushed back against community water fluoridation efforts, and initiated steps to end federal support for community water fluoridation.
Eliminated the federal Newborn Screening Advisory Committee, disrupting evidence-based updates to newborn screening and risking delayed diagnoses.
Targeted CDC’s Chronic Disease Division (NCCDPHP) for elimination, undermining programs focused on tobacco prevention, cancer screening, and school health.
Terminated $11.4 billion from the CDC’s COVID Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) grant program, undermining state efforts to modernize public health data infrastructure, lab capacity, and disease surveillance systems.
Terminated multiple HIV surveillance and prevention research programs, including the Adolescent HIV Prevention Network and NIH-funded provider training initiatives, weakening national data systems and care delivery pipelines.
Closed CDC’s Division of STD Prevention and Viral Hepatitis laboratories, which previously served as global reference centers for tracking antibiotic resistance and emerging infectious threats.
Eliminated the HHS Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE), which addresses the health impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities.
Withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization, severing access to global disease surveillance systems and pandemic coordination.
Communication Suppression & Scientific Censorship
Imposed a communications freeze at CDC and other health agencies, delaying public health guidance and halting the MMWR.
Required all federal health agency guidance to be reviewed by political appointees.
Censored terms like “equity,” “diversity,” “nonbinary,” and “systemic racism” in federal research and agency communications.
Censored federal scientists critical of administration narratives — including Kevin Hall, whose research on ultra-processed food was reportedly suppressed, and who subsequently resigned.
Promoted misinformation about seed oils, infant formula, and CGMs as diet tools over evidence-based obesity treatment, fueling distrust in public health recommendations.
Vaccines & Immunization Policy
Canceled key CDC and FDA vaccine advisory meetings, including sessions on flu strain selection and childhood immunization schedules, disrupting routine vaccine planning and oversight.
Removed COVID-19 vaccines from the CDC’s routine immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, despite established benefits in preventing severe outcomes.
Limited approval of updated COVID-19 vaccines to seniors and high-risk groups, requiring new clinical trials for broader use, potentially restricting access for millions of Americans.
Terminated $258 million in HIV vaccine research funding, setting back global efforts to develop a viable HIV vaccine by an estimated decade.
Canceled a $600 million contract with Moderna for avian flu vaccine development, raising concerns about pandemic preparedness and national health security.
Environmental Health & Deregulation
EPA launched the “biggest deregulation day in U.S. history,” targeting environmental protections across multiple sectors.
Rolled back environmental protections related to agriculture and industry, including expanded coal operations that increase mercury, arsenic, and lead in soil, water, and food.
Rolled back PFAS drinking water protections, despite mounting evidence of harm.
Slashed EPA staff and budget by $300 million, including deep cuts to enforcement and environmental justice teams.
Cut clean energy programs on farms and in rural communities, reducing support for climate-smart agriculture.
Defunded programs designed to protect disadvantaged communities facing disproportionate environmental harm.
Proposed eliminating the EPA's Office of Research and Development, potentially terminating up to 75% of its 1,540 staff members, including chemists, biologists, and toxicologists. This move has been criticized as undermining the agency’s scientific integrity and legislative mandates.
Established an email system allowing industrial polluters to request presidential exemptions from Clean Air Act regulations, enabling companies to bypass rules on toxic emissions like mercury and arsenic
CDC unable to assist with lead contamination crisis in Wisconsin due to understaffing and budget cuts.
Healthcare Access, Drug Costs, and Tobacco Policy
Proposed deep cuts to Medicaid, including block grants and work requirements, which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates would result in 8.6 million people losing health insurance.
Shortened Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment periods, making it harder for people to sign up for insurance.
Reversed Medicare drug negotiation policy, allowing pharmaceutical companies to raise prescription drug prices without limits.
Rescinded Biden-era EMTALA guidance requiring emergency rooms to provide abortion care when a pregnant patient’s life is at risk
Suspended J-1 visa processing, threatening to strand residency programs and worsen healthcare workforce shortages as the July 1 start date approaches.
Proposed major cuts to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), including suicide prevention and community mental health grants, despite rising mental health needs.
Reversed the planned menthol cigarette ban, despite overwhelming evidence it would save lives and reduce tobacco-related health disparities, particularly in Black communities.
Global Health and Foreign Aid
Froze $43 billion in USAID funding without notice, halting vaccine distribution, disaster relief, and food aid programs.
Announced plans to merge or eliminate USAID under a "government efficiency" strategy.
Paused PEPFAR funding for global HIV/AIDS relief (later granted waiver but created confusion and service disruption).
Estimated to have caused approximately 300,000 deaths globally, including over 200,000 children, due to abrupt cuts in aid programs combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, malnutrition, and providing clean water and food aid.
This list is devastatingly long. The fact that there’s this much to document in just five months…is not normal. It reflects a systematic effort to weaken public health, erode scientific integrity, and deepen the very inequities that drive poor health outcomes in the first place. These are coordinated decisions that will not make America healthier. They will do the exact opposite.
If I’ve missed anything major, please let me know in the comments. I’ll keep updating this list, so we can track it all in one place.
You didn’t just bring receipts. You brought the whole cash register. Bravo.
Much appreciate this comprehensive accounting! You rock!