The Last 30 Days: What’s Happened to Public Health
From sweeping Medicaid cuts to dismantled vaccine oversight and silenced scientists. Plus the growing pushback from public health leaders
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On June 5th, I published a detailed article outlining everything the Trump administration had done to undermine public health in its first five months. The list was long and almost unbelievable in scope. In just a short amount of time, the administration had taken dozens of actions that weakened scientific integrity, dismantled core public health infrastructure, and made it harder for Americans to access safe food, clean air, and reliable information.
Since then, things have only gotten worse.
The most devastating development came last week with the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill. It is a sweeping piece of legislation that will reshape healthcare and public health in the U.S. for years to come. It includes the largest Medicaid cuts in the nation’s history, putting coverage for up to 16 million people at risk.
As a result, one in four nursing homes could close, and hundreds of rural hospitals are at risk. One facility in Curtis, Nebraska, a town of just 900 people, has already announced it will shut down its rural clinic. The CEO cited the Medicaid cuts directly, saying the anticipated reductions have made it impossible to continue operating.
Public health researchers estimate that the downstream effects of this bill could lead to more than 50,000 preventable deaths every year.
The legislation also includes the largest cuts to nutrition assistance programs ever enacted, expected to affect over 5 million people, including hundreds of thousands of children. And at the same time, it delivers massive tax breaks to corporations and the wealthiest Americans, which will widen income inequality, one of the strongest predictors of poor health outcomes in the United States.
While this bill rightfully dominated headlines (and should continue to) it wasn’t the only thing that happened.
Here are some of the other major developments from the past month.
NIH Grants Reinstated After a Court Order
Earlier this year, the administration froze or canceled over $3.8 billion in NIH grants, halting hundreds of research projects midstream. These included studies on cancer, HIV, ALS, maternal health, and mental illness.
In mid-June, a federal judge ruled the grant cancellations unlawful, finding they were ideologically motivated and lacked appropriate review. The NIH was ordered to reinstate the funding. And internal emails at the NIH confirmed that no additional grant terminations would proceed.
However, a lot of damage was done in that time. Research teams lost critical time, clinical trials were paused, job offers to graduate students and postdocs were rescinded, and some labs were forced to lay off staff or shut down entirely. Several early-career scientists have spoken publicly about how the uncertainty pushed them to leave academia altogether. Even with funding restored in some cases, it will take months or longer to restart what was lost. And because the court ruling only applies to institutions named in the lawsuit, many grants remain in limbo, especially in states that haven’t challenged the cuts.
While reinstating the funds is a win for now, it came only after major disruptions to research timelines, staffing, and patient care. And the threat of future politically motivated cancellations remains.
NIH Scientists Fight Back
In response to the administration’s ongoing attacks on science, a group of nearly 500 current and former NIH scientists released the Bethesda Declaration, a public statement condemning political interference in research funding. They warned that the integrity of biomedical research in the U.S. is “on the brink” and called for legal and institutional protections to prevent future abuses.
This kind of public dissent from within NIH is extremely rare, and reflects how deeply alarmed scientists are about what’s happening inside federal agencies.
EPA Scientists Speak Out And Face Retaliation
Last week, a group of current and former EPA employees, inspired by the Bethesda Declaration, released a Declaration of Dissent, condemning the agency’s shift away from its core mission of protecting human health and the environment. The letter, signed by more than 170 named staff members and hundreds more anonymously, warned that the agency was actively undermining environmental protections and ignoring scientific evidence.
In response, EPA leadership placed 139 of the signatories on administrative leave, launching an internal investigation and barring them from accessing government devices or communicating with colleagues. According to internal memos, the protest was deemed potentially “unlawful,” and employees were warned of possible disciplinary action. And in a statement last week, the EPA said it has a “zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging and undercutting” the Trump administration’s agenda.
It’s worth remembering: most people who work in these agencies aren’t “bureaucrats.” They’re scientists, analysts, engineers, and public health professionals. Many of whom have spent their careers serving the public, often across multiple administrations. Their dissent reflects a deep concern about the long-term consequences of politically driven environmental rollbacks, and the increasingly hostile environment for those who speak up.
The CDC’s Vaccine Advisory Committee Was Dismantled
On June 10, HHS Secretary RFK Jr. fired all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee (ACIP). This is the group that provides the evidence-based recommendations for the nation’s immunization schedule, including childhood vaccines, flu shots, and RSV guidance. I wrote more about this here.
He then appointed eight new members just two days later, many of whom are known vaccine skeptics or lack relevant immunization expertise. Several appointees were listed in RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine book.
The ousted ACIP members responded by publishing an editorial in JAMA warning that these “destabilizing decisions” risk undermining U.S. vaccine policy and public trust. They also emphasized that ACIP historically took up to two years to confirm new members, underscoring the dangerous speed of the new appointments.
Within weeks, the newly constituted ACIP convened to revisit long-settled vaccine decisions, including the childhood schedule and thimerosal use, which experts say amplify vaccine hesitancy. And major health organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, have condemned the overhaul, calling it politically driven and harmful to public health. Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm launched the Vaccine Integrity Project to counter all of the uncertainty and vaccine-related misinformation.
Major Restructuring of HHS Temporarily Blocked
The administration’s plan to eliminate 20,000 positions at HHS and consolidate key public health agencies was temporarily halted in court on July 1, after a preliminary injunction blocked the restructuring.
But the pause is likely temporary. Officials have already signaled plans to revise and resubmit the proposal, keeping the agency and its workforce in a constant state of uncertainty.
Climate Data Wiped from Federal Websites
In late June, the administration removed key climate and health data from federal websites, including Climate.gov and GlobalChange.gov. These sites housed National Climate Assessments and interactive tools used by scientists, journalists, educators, and public health departments nationwide.
The loss of public access to this data undermines climate preparedness efforts and disrupts local and state-level planning, especially in communities already facing heatwaves, wildfires, and flooding.
National Food Assistance Hotline Shut Down
In May, the USDA quietly eliminated a legally mandated food assistance clearinghouse by refusing to renew its long-standing contract with the nonprofit Hunger Free America. For over a decade, the organization had run a national hotline and online database that helped more than 200,000 people find nearby food assistance programs, including SNAP, WIC, summer meals, and USDA-supported food pantries and soup kitchens.
The hotline was required by law. Under the Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act and the National School Lunch Act, the USDA is obligated to maintain a clearinghouse to help the public connect with food aid. But instead of renewing the modest $250,000 contract, the USDA notified the nonprofit just hours before it was set to expire that it would not be renewed.
Hunger Free America has since filed a lawsuit, arguing the USDA is in violation of federal law. The organization had received high performance reviews year after year and had been the only applicant the last time the contract was rebid. It now faces layoffs and may be forced to shut the hotline down entirely.
The USDA, which has already canceled over 750 contracts under the Trump administration, has not explained how, or if, it plans to replace this resource. Without it, there is no longer a centralized national system for helping people locate food assistance programs in their communities.
Future Budgets Slash CDC, NIH, and NSF
While much of the public focus has been on this year’s budget cuts, the Trump administration’s proposed FY2026 blueprint shows where things are headed. It includes:
A 44% cut to CDC funding
A 40% cut to NIH (including a 37% cut to the National Cancer Institute)
A 55% cut to the National Science Foundation (NSF)
These proposed cuts would permanently weaken the scientific and public health infrastructure of the United States, and would be nearly impossible to fully recover from, even under future administrations.
At what point, do people think, "oh shit, we made a BIG mistake."
It's mind numbing to experience.
Thank you for this concise and informative summary, even though it is alarming and discouraging.