Texas AG investigating insurance company accused of spying on lawmakers, journalists, other Texans
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the investigation of Superior HealthPlan after lawmakers blasted its CEO for allegedly hiring private investigators to dig into Texans’ lives.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Stefanik’s withdrawal as UN Ambassador nominee
The decision by President Trump to withdraw the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) as UN Ambassador is about the math. In so many ways. Yes. There has been a tight House GOP majority all Congress. And that was a factor. But not the only one. TRUMP ASKS STEFANIK TO WITHDRAW FROM UN AMBASSADOR CONTENTION OVER RAZOR-THIN HOUSE MAJORITY In November, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he “begged and pleaded” with Mr. Trump not to recruit any more House members for his administration after Mr. Trump drafted National Security Advisor and former Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) former Attorney General nominee and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Stefanik to serve in his administration. It was believed that the Senate was poised in the next week or two to confirm Stefanik as UN Ambassador. She would have resigned from the House immediately. But this would come as the GOP feared losing one if not two of those special elections to succeed Gaetz and Waltz. Plus, if Stefanik resigned, it would take about three months for a special election to hit in upstate New York to fill her seat. And – because of splintering in the New York GOP – there is concern that Republicans could lose that seat in a special election. But Fox is told that the problem wasn’t so much the potential of losing the special election in upstate New York – but when the VACANCY for that seat would come. The House is trying right now pass President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) backed off the idea of advancing the bill before Easter. It frankly will take weeks if not a few more months to pass that bill. Here’s the other problem: Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) just announced this week she is pregnant and due in August. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: SHOULD THE HOUSE ALLOW MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO VOTE REMOTELY? Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) is now sparring with Johnson over her plan to go over his head and compel the House to allow for remote voting for expectant or new mothers. Luna and the co-sponsor of her resolution, Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), have spoken at length about how tough it is to travel and make votes late in a pregnancy. One source told Fox that Republicans could be worried about losing ANOTHER GOP member if Cammack is unavailable for votes ahead of giving birth – as the House attempts to pass the “big, beautiful bill.” That, of course, presumes that Luna and Pettersen aren’t successful with their initiative to allow for remote voting. Here’s another issue: The president also indicated that Stefanik would return to the House GOP leadership table – although how is unclear. Stefanik previously served as the House Republican Conference Chairwoman. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) now holds that position. Multiple senior House Republican sources told Fox all day before the withdrawal that they weren’t aware of anything going on. “I hope not,” replied one member of the House GOP brain trust when asked about a potential withdrawal. And yet now President Trump is shoehorning Stefanik back into the GOP leadership when House Republican leaders appeared to have no clue that the President was about to yank Stefanik’s nomination. DEMOCRATIC REP. RAUL GRIJALVA DEAD AT 77 Now, here’s something which will cook your noodle. This is completely hypothetical. But worth exploring. The House is currently comprised of 431 members. There are 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats. There are four vacancies. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) did not take office. Former Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) resigned. Late Reps. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas) and Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) died. Let’s just say the Republicans – although unlikely – lose the two House special elections in Florida. With Democratic victories, the House would then have 433 members with 218 Republicans and 215 Democrats. Still two vacancies with the deaths of Turner and Grijalva. But if the Senate confirmed Stefanik, and she resigned, the House would be 217 Republicans and 215 Democrats with three vacancies: Stefanik, Turner and Grijalva. However… Had Turner and Grijalva lived, DEMOCRATS would have control of the House at 218-217 under that scenario. And notably, the House has never flipped in the middle of a Congress. This is why Johnson pleaded last November for Mr. Trump not to poach any other Republicans from the House.
Judge in crosshairs of Trump deportation case orders preservation of Signal messages
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Thursday ordered all parties involved in the Trump administration’s leaked Signal chat to preserve disclosed messages, giving him additional time to evaluate the administration’s handling of the infamous group chat. A lawsuit filed by the left-leaning government transparency group American Oversight asks whether senior Cabinet officials violated federal recordkeeping laws by using Signal to discuss plans for a military strike on the Houthis in Yemen. The chat became infamous after it was revealed that top U.S. officials had inadvertently included Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Golberg for several days of their discussions. Boasberg said during a 25-minute hearing that the federal government must “preserve all Signal communications between March 11 and March 15,” roughly the window of the communications about the military action in Yemen. TRUMP REVEALS WHO WAS BEHIND SIGNAL TEXT CHAIN LINK Boasberg, already under fire from the Trump administration for issuing a restraining order that temporarily blocked the president’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals, emphasized at the start of Thursday’s hearing he was randomly assigned to the case through a docket computer system, not by choice. His remarks came hours after President Donald Trump accused Boasberg on social media of “grabbing the ‘Trump Cases’ all to himself,” a claim Boasberg quickly sought to refute by detailing the court’s random assignment process, including the electronic card system used to distribute cases among judges. “That’s how it works, and that’s how all cases continue to be assigned in this court,” he said. JUDGE TELLS GOVERNMENT WATCHDOGS FIRED BY TRUMP THERE’S NOT MUCH SHE CAN DO FOR THEM Boasberg has sparred with the Trump administration over its failure to comply with the court’s requests for information on its deportation flights earlier this month, which sent around 261 migrants, including Venezuelan nationals and alleged members of the gang Tren de Aragua, from the U.S. to El Salvador. The flights appeared to have departed from Texas around the time Boasberg issued an emergency restraining order and were not returned to the U.S. despite a bench ruling explicitly ordering their immediate return. The Justice Department this week invoked the state secrets privilege in the ongoing court battle, a national security tool that could allow the Trump administration to withhold certain information from the courts for national security purposes. Most recently, the Trump administration vowed to immediately appeal to the Supreme Court a ruling from the D.C. appellate court, which voted 2-1 to uphold Boasberg’s ruling and allow, for now, the block on Trump’s deportation flights to continue. Fox News’s William Mears contributed to this report.
Proposed ballot measure in blue state raises eyebrows over who it’s named after: ‘Road side lunatics’
A proposed ballot initiative in California is named after alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin Luigi Mangione. The Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act submitted to the California Attorney General’s Office would make it illegal for an insurance company to “delay, deny or modify any medical procedure or medication” that is suggested by a licensed physician in the Golden State where there could be serious consequences such as “disability, death, amputation, permanent disfigurement, loss or reduction of any bodily function,” the document states. It was filed by Paul Eisner, a longtime Los Angeles-based attorney. The terms “delay” and “deny” were made popular by the healthcare book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About.” The words “delay, deny, and depose” were reportedly inscribed on the casings of the bullets that killed Brian Thompson on Dec. 4. LUIGI MANGIONE WANTS LAPTOP IN JAIL CELL TO ‘PROPERLY HELP PREPARE HIS DEFENSE,’ LAWYERS SAY “What” Rob Pyers, research director for California Target Book, posted on X. “A proposed ballot initiative has been filed in California entitled “The Luigi Mangioni (sic) Access to Health Care Act.” Actually,” Los Angeles-based conservative activist Elizabeth Barcohana said. “THE LUIGI MANGIONI (sic) ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE ACT” Seriously???? A ballot initiative about health care submitted today to the California Attorney General is named after the accused killer. Crazy,” author Gerald Posner wrote. “I’m starting to suspect the Democrats in charge of California might actually just be simple road side (sic) lunatics after all,” Ruthless Podcast Executive Producer Leigh Wolf said on X. SUSPECT NABBED IN ALLEGED PLOT TO KILL BESSENT, HEGSETH AND JOHNSON, ‘INSPIRED BY LUIGI MANGIONE’: PROSECUTORS Mangione reportedly faced “chronic back pain,” according to Honolulu Civil Beat, and issues after a spinal procedure. “Pain in general affects our mental well-being, how we go on in our day-to-day life and function. If you’re reminded of an injury in your body, and you live in pain, it can be something that really rattles you,” board-certified neurosurgeon Dr. Besty Grunch told Fox News Digital in December. LUIGI MANGIONE WINKS AT SUPPORTERS WITH GREEN SWEATER UNDER BULLETPROOF VEST “In this alleged circumstance, you have a 26-year-old, fit guy that has an injury and needs care,” she added. “And he may reflect his pain on someone else or blame it on someone else. And [that] can escalate to a point of suicidal or even homicidal thoughts.” Mangione is currently charged with murder by both New York and the federal government, and he has pleaded not guilty.
Senate Armed Services leaders ask Pentagon watchdog to probe leaked Signal chat
The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate’s Armed Services Committee requested the Pentagon’s inspector general probe whether classified defense information was shared on Signal, an encrypted messaging platform. “This chat was alleged to have included classified information pertaining to sensitive military discussions in Yemen,” Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., wrote in a letter to acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins. “If true, this reporting raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss classified and sensitive information.” The letter was sent Wednesday evening, a committee spokesperson said, after The Atlantic published messages in full that included details about a planned strike on the Houthis in Yemen and revealed a target had been successfully killed when a building he was in collapsed. White House officials have insisted the information Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security advisor Mike Waltz shared in the chat was not classified. TRUMP TEAM’S SIGNAL SNAFU SPARKS DEBATE OVER SECURE COMMS: ‘RUSSIA AND CHINA ARE LISTENING’ Stebbins is the acting Pentagon watchdog after President Donald Trump fired 17 inspectors general, including the Defense Department’s IG, shortly after taking office. Wicker told reporters Wednesday he would seek an “expedited” investigation. Hegseth’s Signal messages revealed F-18, Navy fighter aircraft, MQ-9s, drones and Tomahawks cruise missiles would be used in the strike on the Houthis. “1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package),” Hegseth said in one message notifying the chat of high-level administration officials that the attack was about to kick off. “1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)” he added, according to the report. “1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)” “1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)” “1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.” “MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)” “We are currently clean on OPSEC” – that is, operational security. TRUMP NOT PLANNING TO FIRE WALTZ AFTER NATIONAL SECURITY TEXT CHAIN LEAK Later, Waltz wrote that the mission had been successful. “The first target—their top missile guy—was positively ID’d walking into his girlfriend’s building. It’s now collapsed.” The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, who was unintentionally added to the chat, published an initial story that did not include specifics about the strike he believed to be sensitive. After the White House insisted the information was not classified, he asked them if they would object to him publishing its contents. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded that they would object. “No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS,” Waltz wrote on X on Wednesday. Government officials frequently use Signal to communicate, even for sensitive information, given that they don’t always have quick access to a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF). “This is an approved app. It’s an encrypted app,” Leavitt insisted to reporters Wednesday. Still, even some Republicans have grumbled about how the situation has been handled. Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., a Navy veteran with a top secret clearance, said adding Goldberg to the chat was “totally sloppy,” and the information shared was either classified “or at the very least highly sensitive.” “In the wrong hands, like the Houthis or any of America’s adversaries, this kind of Intel could have jeopardized the mission and put our troops at greater risk,” he told Fox News Digital. “It was wrong when Hillary put all that classified information on an unclassified server. It was wrong when Biden had the sensitive files in his garage. And it’s wrong now.” The Senate letter asked for “what was communicated and any remedial actions taken as a result” and an assessment of whether proper policies had been followed related to government officers “sharing sensitive and classified information on non-government networks and electronic applications.” It also asked for the IG to probe how the policies of DOD, the intelligence community, the National Security Council and the White House differ on the matter. The DOD IG’s office confirmed receiving the letter yesterday to Fox News Digital and said it was in the process of reviewing it. Earlier this week, Wicker and Reed said they would “likely” hold a bipartisan hearing on the Signal chat. But given the political nature of the storyline, it may be easier to allow an independent watchdog to conduct a fact-finding mission. “This is precisely why independent offices of inspectors general are so valuable. When a situation becomes a hot-button political issue, it’s incredibly helpful to have an objective, nonpartisan group of trained professionals to do the fact-finding and answer the hard questions,” former State Department inspector general Diana Shaw told Fox News Digital. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP She warned not to expect the IG to give any answers on whether criminal conduct had taken place, and not to expect a quick probe given the crossover of agencies implicated in the chat. “It’s very difficult to do anything quickly when it involves the Interagency – an interagency review requires navigation through a complex maze of jurisdictional boundaries. The committee may get some of its questions answered quickly, but it will likely have to wait some time for answers to the more central questions it’s posed.”
‘Excessive’ state taxes on guns, ammunition sales are target of new GOP crackdown effort
FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers are pushing to stop states from imposing excise taxes on gun and ammunition sales, a condemnation of a measure California enforced in 2024. In 2023, California became the first state to adopt a measure imposing an excise tax targeting the gun industry. The legislation sets an 11% excise tax on guns and ammunition sales and directs the revenue toward gun relinquishment programs and other gun control initiatives. Colorado is also poised to impose a 6.5% excise tax on similar purchases in April. Other states like Maryland, New York and Massachusetts are considering similar pieces of legislation. NRA LEGISLATIVE EXPERT SAYS GUN RIGHTS COULD SEE ‘MOST MONUMENTAL’ WIN IN CONGRESS SINCE 2005 But these initiatives amount to unconstitutional tax that undermines the Second Amendment, according to Republican lawmakers. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who introduced the Freedom of Unfair Gun Taxes Act to their respective chambers of Congress Thursday, are seeking to bar states from adopting these measures. “Blue states that implement an excessive excise tax to fund gun control initiatives are exploiting the Second Amendment,” Risch said Thursday in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The Freedom from Unfair Gun Taxes Act ensures states do not place a significant financial burden on law-abiding gun owners to advance their anti-Second Amendment agenda.” Issa said states like California historically have introduced “extreme” policies targeting gun owners that jeopardize their Second Amendment rights. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS BIDEN ADMIN ‘GHOST GUN’ REGULATION “The latest attack is California’s imposition of a ‘sin tax’ on firearms and ammunition,” Issa said in a statement to Fox News Digital. Specifically, Issa claimed California’s new law, which requires gun sellers to foot the bill for the excise tax, is an “outrageous and unfair burden on law-abiding citizens.” Excise taxes target specific goods or services for manufacturers, consumers or retailers. California’s new excise tax is coupled with the 10% to 11% federal excise tax gun dealers already pay that goes toward wildlife conservation efforts. California Assembly member Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat representing the San Fernando Valley, spearheaded legislation known as the Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Act in 2023 to impose the excise tax to raise revenue to support programs, including the California Violence Intervention and Prevention program. The law also allocates revenue from the excise tax toward a court-based gun relinquishment program that revokes gun ownership from domestic abusers and convicted criminals and law enforcement initiatives focused on gun investigations. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed off on the law in September 2023, and it took effect in July. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It’s shameful that gun manufacturers are reaping record profits at the same time that gun violence has become the leading cause of death for kids in the United States,” Gabriel said in a statement in July. “This law will generate $160 million annually to fund critical violence prevention and school safety programs that will save lives and protect communities across the State of California.” Co-sponsors of the Senate’s version of the Freedom of Unfair Gun Taxes Act include Republican senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Steve Daines of Montana, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Jim Justice of West Virginia and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska. Republican representatives Richard Hudson of North Carolina and Doug LaMalfa of California also co-sponsored the House’s version of the measure.
US partners with Colombia to take on immigration using biometric technologies
The U.S. and Colombia have agreed to partner up to deploy biometric capabilities to help authorities manage migration and stop criminal activity. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem met with Colombia Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia in Bogota on Thursday, where the two signed an agreement to utilize biometric capabilities. “Today we have signed a statement of intent for biometric cooperation, and it will reaffirm our strong, and our resilient, and our enduring partnership,” Noem said after signing the agreement. The agreement comes just months after President Donald Trump and Colombia President Gustavo Petro clashed over the treatment of Colombians on deportation flights from the U.S. COLOMBIA LEADER QUICKLY CAVES AFTER TRUMP THREATS, OFFERS PRESIDENTIAL PLANE FOR DEPORTATION FLIGHTS In January, U.S. officials sent two flights of Colombian illegal aliens back to their country of origin, though Petro rejected the flights, saying the U.S. cannot “treat Colombian migrants as criminals.” Petro also demanded the U.S. establish protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before his country receives them. In response, Trump threatened to unleash a slew of punishments, including ordering a 25% tariff on all goods coming into the U.S. from Colombia. After a week, Trump added, the tariffs would rise to 50%. Trump also ordered a travel ban and visa revocations for all Colombian government officials, plus “allies and supporters.” TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW Ultimately, the two countries came to an agreement and deportations resumed, though Petro has urged Colombian migrants to return home. Noem acknowledged Colombia’s efforts to resume the repatriation of migrants, adding that the sharing of biometric data will make the cooperation between the U.S. and Colombia more efficient. BILLIONAIRES COZY UP TO TRUMP WITH SEVEN FIGURE INAUGURAL DONATIONS AFTER PAST FEUDS WITH PRESIDENT “We’re going to strengthen our regional security systems and make sure that we’re disrupting the movement of threatening actors that perpetuate illegal activity and also facilitate illegal trafficking of migrants across the Western Hemisphere,” she said. “Through this expansion of sharing of biometric data, it will be much more efficient, effective, accurate, and it will also build cooperation that will open doors to new ways that we can continue to work together.” The memorandum of understanding signed by both Noem and Sarabia is intended to strengthen the sharing of migratory information, the latter said, while also ensuring migrants’ dignity and rights are respected. Noem was also expected to meet with Petro during her visit. Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margolis and Landon Mion, as well as Reuters contributed to this report.
French-Algerian author Boualem Sansal sentenced to five years in prison
Algeria’s jailing of writer for remarks on border with regional rival Morocco inflames tensions with France. Algeria has sentenced French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal to five years in prison on charges of “undermining national unity”. A court in Dar El Beida, near Algiers, sentenced the author on Thursday under “anti-terrorism” laws after he gave an interview to far-right French media outlet Frontieres, in which he questioned the borders dividing Algeria from regional rival Morocco. In the interview, published last October, Sansal argued that France had redrawn Algeria’s borders in the latter’s favour during the colonial period to include lands that once belonged to Morocco. The following month, he was arrested upon arriving in Algiers. The case has soured relations between Algeria and France, which nosedived last summer when France shifted its position to recognise Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara territory, and which were further aggravated when Algeria rejected French attempts to return Algerians slated for deportation. French President Emmanuel Macron appealed on Thursday to the Algerian authorities’ “good sense and humanity”, saying he hoped they would “give him [Sansal] back his freedom and allow him to be treated for the disease he is fighting”. Advertisement French media have reported the author has cancer. France-Algeria tensions Sansal, winner of the 2011 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, has long been a critic of Algerian authorities, but he has regularly visited the country, and his books have been sold there without restrictions. The author, who rejected court-appointed lawyers and chose to defend himself, denied the remarks violated laws or were meant to harm Algeria, according to Hociane Amine, a lawyer who was in the courtroom. “Obviously, he has a possibility to appeal. And now that he’s been sentenced, the president is within his rights to grant him a pardon because it’s a political card in the current crisis with France,” Amine said. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has previously criticised Sansal, who was living in France, calling him an “imposter”. But some observers have suggested the author might be granted a presidential pardon during upcoming Muslim or national holidays. Sansal’s five-year sentence is half of what prosecutors requested and less than the recommended for those charged under Article 87 of Algeria’s penal code, the controversial “anti-terrorism” statute implemented after mass protests convulsed the country last decade. Human rights advocates in Algeria claim the laws have long been used to quash anti-government voices. The author also was fined 500,000 Algerian dinar ($3,735). Adblock test (Why?)
RFK to slash 10,000 jobs in major overhaul of US health agencies
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will lay off 10,000 workers and shut down entire agencies, including ones that oversee billions of dollars in funds for addiction services and community health centres across the United States. HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr (RFK) criticised the department he oversees as an inefficient “sprawling bureaucracy” in a video announcing the restructuring on Thursday. He faulted the department’s 82,000 workers for a decline in Americans’ health. “I want to promise you now that we’re going to do more with less,” Kennedy said in the video, posted to social media. The restructuring plan caps weeks of tumult at the nation’s top health department, which has been embroiled in rumours of mass firings, the revocation of $11bn in public health funding for cities and counties, a tepid response to a measles outbreak, and controversial remarks about vaccines from its new leader. Still, Kennedy said a “painful period” lies ahead for HHS, which is responsible for monitoring infectious diseases, inspecting foods and hospitals and overseeing health insurance programmes for nearly half the country. Advertisement ‘Make Americans healthy again’ Overall, the department will downsize to 62,000 positions, losing nearly a quarter of its staff – 10,000 jobs through layoffs and another 10,000 through workers taking early retirement and voluntary separation offers encouraged by US President Donald Trump’s administration. Public health experts, doctors, current and former HHS workers and congressional Democrats quickly panned Kennedy’s plans, warning they could have untold consequences for millions of people across the country. “These staff cuts endanger public health and food safety,” said Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, in a statement. “They raise serious concerns that the administration’s pledge to make Americans healthy again could become nothing more than an empty promise.” But Kennedy, in announcing the restructuring, blasted HHS for failing to improve Americans’ lifespans and not doing enough to drive down chronic disease and cancer rates. “All of that money,” Kennedy said of the department’s $1.7 trillion yearly budget, “has failed to improve the health of Americans.” Federal health workers – stationed across the country at agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), both in Maryland – described shock, fear and anxiety rippling through their offices on Thursday. Workers were not given advance notice of the cuts, several told The Associated Press, and many remained uncertain about whether their jobs were on the chopping block. Advertisement “It’s incredibly difficult and frustrating and upsetting to not really know where we stand while we’re trying to keep doing the work,” said an FDA staffer who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. “We’re being villainised and handicapped and have this guillotine just hanging over our necks.” ‘Drastically scale back’ The planned FDA job cuts would not affect inspectors or reviewers of drugs, medical devices, or food, HHS said. The terminations are likely to delay drug and medical device application reviews or cause missed deadlines, said Eva Temkin, a lawyer at Arnold & Porter who advises clients on drug and medical device applications. “There’s a real risk that this results in delayed patient access to treatments,” she said. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, currently an independent HHS agency with 1,000 employees, will be folded into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The NIH will see staff reductions across its 27 institutes and centres. “The only way to cut that high of a percentage of our staff, along with the 35 percent contracting cuts that are being directed, is to drastically scale back what NIH does across the board,” said Nate Brought, the recently departed director of NIH’s Executive Secretariat. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was comparatively spared, with a reduction of only about 300 employees. It was not immediately clear from which HHS divisions or offices the remaining 2,600 cuts would come. Advertisement As part of the restructuring, the department’s 10 regional offices will be cut to five and its 28 divisions consolidated into 15, including a new Administration for a Healthy America, or AHA, which will combine offices that address addiction, toxic substances and occupational safety into one central office. AHA will include the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. It will be divided into divisions of primary care, maternal and child health, mental health, environmental health, HIV/AIDS, and workforce, the department said. The changes centralise functions such as communications, human resources, IT, and policy planning that currently spread out across several health agencies, including the FDA, CDC, and NIH. Agencies report to the health secretary but have traditionally operated somewhat independently of HHS and the White House. HHS said it would also combine the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality into a new Office of Strategy that will conduct research that informs Kennedy’s policies. There are no additional cuts currently planned, the department said. ‘Pretty devastated’ The cuts and consolidation go far deeper than anyone expected, an NIH employee said. “We’re all pretty devastated,” said the staff member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “We don’t know what this means for public health.” Advertisement Union leaders for CDC workers in Atlanta said they received notice from HHS on Thursday morning that reductions will primarily focus on administrative positions including human resources, finance, procurement and information technology. Adblock test (Why?)
Families say loved ones wrongly deported from US based on tattoos
NewsFeed Arturo Suarez’s partner Nathali is raising their six-month-old daughter alone after, she says, US authorities wrongly deported him to a mega-prison in El Salvador. Critics say innocent tattoos like his are being used as the basis for accusations of Venezuelan gang membership. Published On 27 Mar 202527 Mar 2025 Adblock test (Why?)