By The Defender Staff
RFK Jr. Defends HHS Tenure, 12% Proposed Budget Cut
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended both his tenure as head of the massive health department and the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to the agency during a marathon of wide-ranging congressional hearings last week. Democrats lambasted the secretary across three House hearings on Thursday and Friday for his controversial changes to vaccine policy, rising healthcare costs and upheaval at the HHS, which has lost thousands of employees amid a major restructuring last year.
Although Republicans largely praised Kennedy’s track record as secretary, commending the HHS’ moves to change nutrition guidelines, restrict food dyes and crack down on fraud in government healthcare programs, some GOP lawmakers appeared concerned about the White House’s HHS budget request for fiscal year 2027.
The proposal, released early this month, would cut the department’s discretionary spending by 12.5%, or nearly $16 billion. During multiple hearings, Kennedy defended the proposed cuts, arguing the budget needs to account for the nation’s rapidly rising levels of debt.
Drug Ads Face New Scrutiny at FDA and on Hill
Prescription drug commercials are facing renewed scrutiny as the Trump administration and lawmakers from both parties seek new controls on ads that account for more than $10 billion in annual spending. Why it matters: The U.S. and New Zealand are the only countries that allow direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising, which critics blame for promoting unnecessary drug use and driving up health costs. But any policy shifts will likely face strong industry resistance and could collide with free speech concerns.
Driving the news: The Food and Drug Administration, in its 2027 budget request this month, asked Congress to give it new authority to crack down on drug ads that lack “fair balance” on the benefits and risks of taking a product. The agency wants to address messages that are “frequently misleading and confusing to consumers and patients,” per the budget document.
The FDA has already sent thousands of warnings to manufacturers over ads it deemed “misleading” and moved to close a loophole allowing certain side effects to be listed on a linked website instead of in the ad itself. Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) urged the agency late last month to use its existing powers to require certain drug ads to undergo reviews before they can be shown.
‘Get Rid of MAHA’: Trump Alliance Cracks as Climate Denialists Turn on RFK Jr.’s Movement
At the right-wing Heartland Institute’s International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC) held in Washington, D.C., last week, speakers mocked their usual cast of environmental targets: Greta Thunberg, John Kerry, and of course, Al Gore. But the fringe climate denial movement that Heartland represents and promotes might be facing a new threat, this time from within the Trump base itself: Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).
On a panel called “The Most Important Upcoming Battles” at the group’s annual conference, Heartland board member and Energy & Environmental Legal Institute Fellow Steve Milloy called the MAHA movement and its champion, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, a “left-wing op” that the Trump administration needs to “get rid of.” Milloy, who denies anthropogenic climate change and founded the website JunkScience.com, said the MAHA movement was a risk to everything from the global food supply to the fossil fuel industry.
As Kennedy testifies before Congress this week about his health agenda, Milloy’s comments at the ICCC’s two-day event highlight a growing rift between what was once seen as a largely aligned Trump coalition. In the past, fringe climate-denial groups like Heartland primarily faced opposition from progressives and environmental advocates.
“People that are worried about everything in the environment used to be the Democratic Party and the radical environmental groups,” Milloy said. “Now, it’s a feature of the Trump administration.”
US Supreme Court Rejects Massachusetts School Gender-Identity Policy Challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid by parents to sue a public school district in Massachusetts over actions by teachers and officials to support the gender identity of students by not disclosing name or pronoun changes to parents without the child’s consent. The justices turned away an appeal by the parents of a student who had self-identified as “genderqueer” while attending a middle school in the Massachusetts town of Ludlow after a lower court threw out their lawsuit.
The plaintiffs claimed officials treated their child as nonbinary and hid this information from them in violation of their fundamental parental rights as protected by the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment promise of due process.
The case comes in the wake of a significant decision by the court on March 2 to block similar measures in California that could limit the sharing of information with parents about the gender identity of transgender public school students without the child’s permission.
Psychedelic Drug Developers Rally After Trump Orders FDA to Expedite Reviews
Shares of psychedelic drug developers rose on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing health regulators to speed up reviews of psychedelic treatments and increased federal funding for their research. Shares of AtaiBeckley jumped 28% in morning trading, while Compass Pathways climbed 37%, Enveric BioSciences surged 140% and GH Research rose 24%. Definium Therapeutics gained 4% while U.S.‑listed shares of Cybin, were up about 5%.
The executive order, issued on Saturday, requires the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to fast-track reviews of psychedelic compounds such as ibogaine, which is being studied to treat mental health conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and addiction. The order directs the agency to give Commissioner’s National Priority Vouchers to psychedelic drugs that have the “breakthrough therapy” tag, potentially cutting the review time to one to two months from the usual six to 10 months.
Trump also said the government would allocate $50 million for federal research into ibogaine. Executives across the psychedelics industry welcomed the decision, saying clearer federal support could help accelerate research and responsible clinical use.
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