This is part three of a series of executive orders related to health care.
Public Health
Withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO)
Jan. 20, 2025
Provisions:
- Halt all U.S. funding and resources to the WHO.
- Rescind Biden EO 13987.
Legal Actions: None
Executive Action Related to the Reduction in Indirect Cost Reimbursement Rate for Research Institutions Including National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Provisions:
- Funding from the NIH known as indirect cost rates would be capped at 15%, from an average of more than 27%. Proposed cuts would equal $4 billion in federal funding for health care research.
Legal Actions:
- States of Illinois, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, Minnesota, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Rhode Island and Wisconsin along with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against the cap on Feb. 10, 2025.
- Recent Actions: The funding cap was temporarily blocked on Feb. 10, 2025, with a hearing set for Feb. 21, 2025.
- Association of American Universities, American Council on Education, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, Brandeis University, Brown University, Regents of the University of California, California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Chicago, Cornell University, George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, University of Rochester and Trustees of Tufts College filed a joint lawsuit on Feb. 10, 2025.
- Association of American Medical Colleges filed an emergency restraining order against NIH on Feb. 10, 2025.
- Recent Actions: Restraining order was granted by a federal judge on Feb. 10, 2025.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Removal of Online Data
Provisions:
- CDC and federal health webpages removed data related to gender, environment, reproductive health, DEI health and inequities, abortion, contraception, public health, LGBTQ+ and more to comply with Trump’s “woke ideology and gender extremism” ban in federal agencies.
Legal Actions:
- Doctors for America filed a lawsuit on Feb. 4, 2025. The lawsuit argues violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and Paperwork Reduction Act.
- Recent Actions: Feb. 11, 2025, preliminary injunction orders CDC and federal health agencies to restore their websites to their state on Jan. 10, 2025. A lawsuit is pending.
Federal Health Agencies Public Communications Halt
Jan. 22, 2025
Provisions:
- Ordered federal health agencies including CDC, NIH, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and FDA to pause all public facing communications including press releases, regulations, newsletters, social media posts and website communications.
Legal Actions: None
Establishing the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission
Feb. 13, 2025
Provisions:
- Chaired by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the commission is tasked with investigating and addressing the root causes of America’s escalating health crisis, with an initial focus on childhood chronic diseases.
- Within 100 days, the commission will produce an assessment that summarizes what is known and what questions remain regarding the childhood chronic disease crisis and include international comparisons.
- Within 180 days, the commission will produce a strategy, based on the findings of the assessment to improve the health of America’s children.
- The commission has four main policy directives to reverse chronic disease:
- Empower Americans through transparency and open-source data and avoid conflicts of interest in all federally funded health research.
- Prioritize gold-standard research on why Americans are getting sick in all health-related research funded by the federal government.
- Work with farmers to ensure that American-grown foods are healthy, abundant and affordable.
- Ensure expanded treatment options and health coverage flexibility for beneficial lifestyle changes and disease prevention.
Legal Actions: None
Keeping Education Accessible and Ending COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in Schools
Feb. 15, 2025
Provisions:
- Secretary of Education will guidelines to schools to not mandate COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Any school found in noncompliance will have federal grants withheld.
- Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall provide to the president, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, a plan to end coercive COVID-19 school mandates, consistent with applicable law, and including proposed legislation if appropriate.
- List will be created of discretionary federal grants and contracts provided to elementary schools, local educational agencies, state educational agencies, secondary schools and institutions of higher education that are non-compliant with the guidelines.
Legal Actions: None
