Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said during a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) event Thursday that the Trump administration is making history with its approval of numerous waivers that will eliminate junk food from food stamp programs.
Rollins was in Nebraska on Monday to sign the first alongside Republican Gov. Jim Pillen. She has also signed a waiver for Indiana and Iowa, "with half-a-dozen more coming down the line," she said.
"We are on track to sign multiples of snap waivers to get junk food and sugary drinks out of our food stamp system," Rollins said at the Thursday afternoon event, centering around the release of a 69-page report from the Trump administration's MAHA Commission on how to effect change around childhood chronic disease.
"That has never happened before under Republican or Democrat administrations," Rollins added. "We have never made that happen before. So I am so proud and so grateful."
On average, 42 million low-income Americans receive food stamp assistance each month, according to the MAHA report released at Thursday's event. It added that 1 in 5 American children under 17 receive SNAP benefits.
With Nebraska's waiver, it became the first state in the nation to bar recipients of federal food stamp programs from using the money to buy junk food, soda and other high-sugar items. The exemption will begin as a two-year pilot program, local media reported.
Other GOP-led states, including Texas and West Virginia, have applied for this waiver.
"SNAP was created to increase access to nutritious food; however, many SNAP purchases are for food with little to no nutritious value," Texas GOP Governor Greg Abbott wrote in a letter to Rollins requesting a waiver last week.
"Under the Trump administration, for the first time since the program was authorized, states can take steps to eliminate the opportunity to buy junk food with SNAP benefits and assure that taxpayer dollars are used only to purchase healthy, nutritious food."
West Virginia's Governor Patrick Morrisey, one of the leaders requesting a waiver, has also been spearheading other MAHA efforts in his state. In March, Morrisey signed House Bill 2354 into law, which made it the first state in the nation to begin prohibiting certain synthetic dyes and additives used in food items sold in the state.
Angry protesters disrupted a Tuesday hearing on Capitol Hill during which Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified about how the agency's 2026 budget aligns with President Donald Trump's agenda.
Kennedy did not even finish his opening statement when multiple protesters disrupted his testimony, yelling that the HHS secretary is killing people "with hate."
"RFK kills people with hate!" a protester blurted out, startling Kennedy, who quickly turned behind him to see where the commotion was coming from. "RFK kills people with hate!" the chant continued, with more voices joining in. "RFK kills people with hate!"
Multiple people were eventually escorted out of the room, during which the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., paused the hearing.
"Members of the audience are reminded disruptions will not be permitted while the committee conducts its business. Capitol Police are asked to remove the individuals from the hearing room," Cassidy said amid the commotion.
"That was a made-for-C-SPAN moment," Cassidy quipped after things settled down.
The Wednesday hearing with the Senate HELP Committee came a few weeks after HHS released its budget for fiscal year 2026. Kennedy was testifying to share how the budget aligns with Trump's priorities.
"When my team and I took the helm at HHS we set out with clear goals," Kennedy said shortly before he was interrupted.
"First, we aim to make America healthy again with a special focus on the chronic disease epidemic. Second, we committed to delivering more efficient, responsive, and effective service to over 100 million Americans who rely on Medicare, Medicaid and other programs. Third, we focus on achieving these goals by cutting costs for taxpayers and intend to do more – a lot more – with less."
United States Capitol Police (USCP) confirmed to Fox News Digital that seven people were ultimately arrested following the disruption at Kennedy's hearing. Among those arrested was Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen, who was arrested for obstruction.
USCP added that some of the arrestees were also charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, but they could not confirm how many of the other six were charged with these more severe crimes.
I joined the droves of Berkshire shareholders taking part in the Brooks 5K run.
Theron Mohamed/BI
I traveled from London to Omaha to cover Warren Buffett's annual meeting for Business Insider.
The biggest news story of my career ended up breaking while I was there.
I immersed myself in all things Buffett for a weekend and had an unforgettable time.
I flew from London to Warren Buffett's hometown of Omaha to cover Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting. I wasn't expecting the biggest business story in the world to break while I was there.
Buffett's revelation that he plans to resign as Berkshire's CEO at the end of this year was the headline of my trip. But I also saw rare treasures, spoke to people from all walks of life, visited storied locations, and discovered how Buffett and his businesses pervade almost every part of Omaha.
I had a dream start to my reporting journey.
My seatmate showed me a Berkshire Hathaway Class B share certificate.
Theron Mohamed/BI
My nine-hour flight from London to Chicago became far more interesting after I learned my seatmate was making the same pilgrimage.
The value investor in his 30s, who asked not to be named, showed me a Berkshire Class B share certificate — signed by Buffett in 2005 — that his firm had given him as the proof of ownership he needed to get a meeting pass.
He told me that when his wife asked why he was so excited to go to Omaha, he replied, "Imagine you're a Christian and you have a chance to see Jesus Christ."
When he nodded off a few hours later, Buffett's face looked up at me from the Kindle on his lap, as he'd been reading "Tap Dancing to Work."
Arriving in Omaha, it was clear this was Berkshire turf.
A winking ad on the wall in Omaha's Eppley Airfield.
Theron Mohamed/BI
I took a connecting flight from Chicago to Omaha and arrived late on Thursday night.
One of the welcome ads on the airport's wall requested visitors to "check your SPACs, Crypto, and EBITDA at the gate" — a nod to Buffett and his late business partner Charlie Munger's disdain for risky, speculative, and volatile assets.
Munger called the proliferation of special-purpose acquisition vehicles, or SPACs, a "moral failing," dismissed bitcoin as "stupid" and "evil" as well as "rat poison." He also described earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization as "bullshit earnings."
Omaha businesses were ready for Berkshire weekend.
The airport's Hudson News store had a variety of Berkshire-related titles on display.
The Hudson News store in the airport had several areas dedicated to Berkshire books and other financial titles, including "Poor Charlie's Almanack" and "Buffett & Munger Unscripted."
Another airport eatery had a See's Candies stall and a sign from Berkshire welcoming its shareholders.
I took a taxi to the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Omaha. There was a banner in front of the hotel welcoming Berkshire shareholders, and a similar display outside the elevators on my floor.
Berkshire's big bash evolves with every acquisition.
Berkshire-owned Pilot was serving coffees outside the CHI Health Center.
Theron Mohamed/BI
This was my third annual meeting, and I'm always interested to see how it changes to reflect the deals that Buffett makes.
Squishmallows was one of the biggest exhibitors at Berkshire's shareholder shopping day this year, with myriad displays and interactive activities.
Berkshire took full ownership of Pilot Travel Centers at the start of 2024. Pilot employees were selling coffee outside the meeting venue, the CHI Health Center. Inside, the company offered everything from Berkshire Blend coffee to T-shirts with Buffett quotes.
Buffett superfans were out in force.
Wan Xue and a friend were first in line to get their shareholder passes on Friday.
Theron Mohamed/BI
Wan Xue, or "Cathy," 33, from China, was first in line to get her shareholder pass on Friday. She told me she'd purchased 11 books on this trip already, and planned to buy more.
She planned to see everything related to Buffett that she could, and had already visited his birthplace and school as well as Berkshire headquarters, she said.
Plenty of Buffett experts were in town.
Investors John Rogers, Chris Marangi, and Mario Gabelli spoke at the Gabelli Funds conference.
Theron Mohamed/BI
Veteran investors including billionaire Mario Gabelli and Buffett's former financial assistant, Tracy Britt Cool, spoke at conferences on Friday, the day before Buffett's Q&A.
I asked Gabelli straight after the conference how he felt about owning Berkshire stock given the current market turmoil.
He shrugged off any concerns, saying he first met Buffett more than 50 years ago at Columbia Business School, and has only ever sold Berkshire to stop his portfolio becoming too concentrated.
At her company Kanbrick's conference, Britt Cool shared a memorable piece of advice from Buffett about long-term, responsible management: "Think about this business as if it's your family's only asset and you cannot sell it for 50 years."
After Buffett's bombshell, I headed to Nebraska Furniture Mart for the shareholder picnic.
There was a photo of Buffett's face on the front door. NFM stocked Buffett T-shirts and other merchandise, and featured an entire See's Candies concession.
Shareholders took the news of Buffett's exit in good spirits.
Sam McColgan and classmate Vipara Rasphone at the NFM picnic.
Theron Mohamed/BI
At the picnic in NFM's parking lot, there was live music, bocce, barbecue, drinks, and lots of people laughing, taking photos, playing games, or dancing.
Sam McColgan, 31, a Stanford graduate student, told me he was "somewhat relieved" that Buffett had announced his resignation, as "it would have been a shock to the world" if he'd died while still CEO.
I even went on a shareholder fun run
I joined the droves of Berkshire shareholders taking part in the Brooks 5K run.
Theron Mohamed/BI
On Sunday morning I donned an official shirt and racing bib and took part in Brooks' 5K run. I loved the branded team shirts for See's Candies and Oriental Trading employees, and the announcer's wordplay about "investing in yourself" to garner "healthy returns."
I enjoyed traversing the center of the city, but the run wasn't long enough as I was interviewing people along the way and had to keep retracing my steps to avoid finishing.
The finishers' medals were satisfyingly heavy.
The finishers' medal from the race.
Theron Mohamed/BI
I liked the look, feel, and weight of my finishers' medal.
The rest area after the race was well set up with breakfast burritos, Dairy Queen ice cream, and energy drinks at the Berkshire Hathaway Energy booth for runners.
It was fun to tear off a tab from my race bib and exchange it for a Pilot hot chocolate too.
Buffett's retirement was front-page news on Sunday.
Warren Buffett made the front page after breaking the news of his resignation plan.
Theron Mohamed/BI
The magnitude of what I'd witnessed became clearer after I saw Buffett on the front page of his hometown paper in my hotel's lobby on Sunday.
Buffett bought the Omaha World-Herald for $150 million (and took on its $50 million of debt) in late 2011. He sold his newspapers, which also included The Buffalo News, to Lee Enterprises for $140 million in 2020.
People were still processing Buffett's bombshell.
Calvin Sowah was one of many shareholders surprised by Buffett stepping down.
Theron Mohamed/BI
After a shower back at the hotel, I took a Lime scooter to Markel's brunch at the Omaha Marriott, down the road from where Buffett held his Q&A.
Much of the second floor was packed with people wearing Berkshire merch they'd purchased over the previous two days, from hats and windbreakers to polo shirts and shoes.
Calvin Sowah, 30, a venture capitalist from New York City, told me that Buffett's casual manner caught him off guard.
"I wasn't expecting it," he said. "And he just said it so nonchalantly that it was like, 'Oh, wait, what? You're retiring.'"
A veteran shareholder told me he wants Buffett to keep sharing his wisdom.
Martin Wiegand showed me his copy of "Buffett & Munger Unscripted."
Theron Mohamed/BI
Speaking in the hallway outside Markel's shareholder meeting, Martin Wiegand, 67, told me he's attended more than 30 Berkshire meetings and has owned the stock for about 40 years.
Wiegand said his father was a school friend of Buffett, and his parents attended Berkshire meetings too.
He told me he wants Buffett to continue talking after his deputy, Greg Abel, takes over as CEO in the new year.
"I hope he doesn't drop the mic and walk off the stage, never to be heard from again," Wiegand said. "I hope he teaches a Coursera course — some sort of a podcast is too much to ask," he continued, adding that he'd like Buffett to keep doing media appearances.
"Warren Buffett's the moral authority of finance in America," he said. "And I think he proved yesterday he's still the sharpest man in the room at 94."
There was time for one final story from Omaha on my trip home.
College students John Di Bella and Aidan Sims on the flight back to New York City.
Theron Mohamed/BI
I thought my Berkshire experience was over when I boarded a flight to New York City early Monday morning.
But my seatmates, Aidan Sims and John Di Bella, were two finance majors from NYC who'd also made the trip to see Buffett speak.
Sims said he had a date to a formal on Friday night, but managed to make it to Omaha in time to watch Buffett's bombshell announcement.
Di Bella told me how he spent the night outside to get good seats for the Q&A. He played poker on the street, vaulted up the arena's steps once the doors opened, and scored selfies with Apple CEO Tim Cook and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The chance encounter cemented Omaha in my memory as a magical place to meet fascinating people, hear wild stories, visit historic locations, and, just maybe, have a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
President Donald Trump said he does not know his new nominee for U.S. surgeon general, telling reporters Thursday that he relied upon the recommendation of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump withdrew the nomination of his first pick for surgeon general, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, this week and instead nominated Dr. Casey Means. The president, upon announcing her nomination, said she has "impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials."
Means, a vocal "Make America Healthy Again" proponent, played a significant role in helping shape the administration's agenda surrounding health alongside her brother, Calley Means.
She has made a name for herself as a wellness influencer alongside her brother. In 2024, both Casey and Calley co-wrote a book about the chronic disease epidemic titled "Good Energy," and Casey is also the co-founder of a health-tech company called Levels.
Calley Means was previously tapped by the administration to serve as a top special advisor to Kennedy.
Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy's running mate in the 2024 election, attacked the surgeon general choice, writing on X Thursday: "I was promised that if I supported RFK Jr. in his Senate confirmation that neither of these siblings would be working under HHS or in an appointment (and that people much more qualified would be). I don't know if RFK very clearly lied to me, or what is going on. It has been clear in recent conversations that he is reporting to someone regularly who is controlling his decisions (and it isn't President Trump)."
It is unclear why Nesheiwat's nomination was pulled. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for more information and did not immediately receive a response.
Meanwhile, in a follow-up post on X, Nesheiwat also said she was "looking forward" to continuing to support Trump while working closely with Kennedy "in a senior policy role."
"My focus continues to be on improving the health and well-being of all Americans, and that mission hasn’t changed," Nesheiwat concluded in her public social media remarks.
Nesheiwat is the sister-in-law of recently fired National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, whom the president indicated he will now be nominating to be the next ambassador to the United Nations after dropping his initial nominee, New York GOP Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.
John Di Bella III snaps a selfie with Apple CEO Tim Cook at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting.
John Di Bella
John Di Bella III waited in the cold for eight hours to get a good seat for Warren Buffett's Q&A.
He "witnessed history" when Buffett revealed his plan to step down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO.
The college student and Berkshire shareholder took photos with Tim Cook and Hillary Clinton.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with John Di Bella III, a 20-year-old college student at Hofstra University in New York. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Eight hours waiting in the cold Nebraska night air was a small price to pay for the experience of watching Warren Buffett close one of the final chapters in the story of a lifetime.
My business partner from college and I had been planning a trip to see the investing icon speak at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting for at least a year.
On Friday night, I flew in from New York City and touched down in Buffett's hometown of Omaha at around 10:30 p.m.
Our hotel was across the street from CHI Health Center, the meeting venue. People were already beginning to camp outside, so I quickly checked in, dropped my bags, then walked over to join the line with an energy drink.
The first gentleman I spoke to was Dean, an excited data analytics guy from Colorado who was camped out with a sleeping bag.
A college teacher and her students were playing poker on a giant tarp they'd brought. I joined in and spent the night flipping cards, placing bets, and waiting.
I didn't notice the temperature dropping off until my body started shaking. It was freezing cold. People in the line were wearing solar blankets and looked like the Tin Man.
John Di Bella III waited overnight to secure a good seat for Warren Buffett's yearly Q&A.
John Di Bella III
Morning rush
As the morning got closer, people got rowdier, and the lines tightened up. Thousands of Buffett fans showed up.
When the doors opened at 7 a.m., it was complete chaos. We sprinted about 10 feet before realizing we had to go through a security checkpoint. There were security guards shouting at us to knock it off and we got the memo quickly.
Once past security, we raced up the stairs, taking three at a time, then attempted to run-walk through the arena to reach the audience seating area. Security were yelling at anyone who ran.
Eight hours of waiting paid off when we slid into the first bleacher row above the floor, maybe one or two sections from the front of the stadium where Buffett would speak.
I've been to concerts in the past, but nothing that compared to a packed out stadium for one man who people really look up to and want to learn from.
Selfie skills
During the break at 10:30 a.m., I went down to the stadium floor to see if I could get photos of VIPs.
I realized Hillary Clinton was still in the room. A few passionate ladies in the line were calling out, "Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!"
I stood there thinking, "How am I going to get her attention?"
I had a phrase in my mind from military school and blurted out, "Madam Secretary, how are you today?"
She turned around with a smile on her face, walked over, and agreed to take a picture with me.
John Di Bella snapped a selfie with Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State and first lady.
My partner's mother left her corporate senior management job to work at Apple back in 1997 when Steve Jobs rejoined the company.
Having a photo of Tim Cook would be something funny I could text and be like, "Hey, I saw your boss," but it also had sentimental value.
After failing twice, I caught his eye and said, "Mr. Cook, my mother-in-law works for you. Her name's Meghan. She loves you, sir. Can I get a photo with you?"
He smiled and replied, "Absolutely. She's a great person. I know her. Tell her I wish her well," then posed for a photo with me.
At one point he joked about how Tim Cook made more money for Berkshire Hathaway than he ever had. He was totally serious and it was such a humble thing to say.
In the closing minutes of the session, Buffett's mannerisms changed and you could tell something important was coming.
After the bombshell, the entire audience stood and applauded that man for 10 minutes straight.
I felt like I was personally speaking to Buffett saying: "Thank you. Thank you for bringing me here. Thank you for everything that you have done for us. And thank you for the legacy that we will now remember you by."
A video of the standing ovation for Warren Buffett, taken by John Di Bella III. pic.twitter.com/KpQzNdz3vf
Listening to Buffett provided the cheapest wisdom I've ever received. I put in nothing compared to what I experienced that day.
The waiting, camaraderie, sleep deprivation, listening to stories, meeting Tim Cook and Hillary Clinton, all added to that historic day. I waited eight hours; I experienced a lifetime.
We witnessed history being made — a page in the final chapter of one of the greatest stories written.
All things considered, I think it was a pretty good trip.
President Donald Trump revealed a new pick for surgeon general on Wednesday, saying he will now nominate Dr. Casey Means for the job.
"Casey has impeccable ‘MAHA’ credentials, and will work closely with our wonderful Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to ensure a successful implementation of our Agenda in order to reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans," Trump said late Wednesday afternoon in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. "Dr. Casey Means has the potential to be one of the finest Surgeon Generals in United States History."
Means, a vocal "Make America Healthy Again" proponent, played a big role in helping shape the administration's agenda surrounding health, alongside her brother, Calley Means.
Calley Means has been tapped by the administration to serve as a special advisor to Secretary Kennedy.
Meanwhile, in a follow-up post on X, Nesheiwat also said she was "looking forward" to continuing to support Trump while working closely with Secretary Kennedy "in a senior policy role."
"My focus continues to be on improving the health and well-being of all Americans, and that mission hasn’t changed," Nesheiwat concluded in her public social media remarks.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's pick for U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, garnering support ahead of her upcoming confirmation hearing, with senators describing her as a "fierce" advocate for the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) movement.
Sources familiar with her confirmation hearing prep told Fox News Digital that Nesheiwat has had many "productive meetings" on Capitol Hill regarding her nomination.
Nesheiwat recently met with the staff for the Senate HELP Committee, along with all the health policy GOP staffers. Sources said those staffers have expressed support for her nomination as medical director in the Public Health Service and surgeon general. Nesheiwat also met with Democrat Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, along with Democrat Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
Sources told Fox News Digital that Blackburn is supportive of Nesheiwat. Details of Nesheiwat's meetings with Hickenlooper and Alsobrooks were not immediately clear.
The sources said various topics were discussed during those meetings, including fighting chronic illness, diseases, opioids, the mission of MAHA, vaccines, good nutrition, educating Americans with science-backed data, combating healthcare provider shortages, mental health, food deserts and the government's role in tracking health crises and emerging health threats.
Sources said the conversations have been "positive, productive conversations."
Nesheiwat has met, so far, with all the Republican senators on the Senate HELP Committee except for Sen. Josh Hawley.
A source told Fox News Digital that Sen. Katie Brit of Alabama, who is not on the committee, wants to meet with Nesheiwat in early May.
Nesheiwat, formerly a Fox News contributor, is double-board certified in family medicine and urgent care medicine.
Nesheiwat, a daughter of Jordanian immigrants, led frontline medical teams during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, along with her past work managing public health responses during flu epidemics, the opioid crisis, the monkeypox outbreak and other major health challenges.
She also was named the first female medical director for CityMD in Manhattan — one of America’s largest urgent care systems.
Upon nominating Nesheiwat to the position, Trump said she is a "fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventative medicine and public health."
"I am proud to announce that Dr. Janette Nesheiwat will be the Nation’s Doctor as the United States Surgeon General. Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified Medical Doctor with an unwavering commitment to saving and treating thousands of American lives," he said. "She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare, and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives."
Trump praised Nesheiwat's work during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying she "worked on the front lines in New York City treating thousands of Americans and helped patients in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s Historic Operation Warp Speed that saved hundreds of millions of lives."
He also praised her "expertise and leadership" after New Orleans' Hurricane Katrina and the Joplin tornadoes.
The president said Nesheiwat "will play a pivotal role in MAKING AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!"
Meanwhile, after meeting with Nesheiwat, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy said Nesheiwat is "aware of the issues facing our nation and how they relate all the way down to counseling a patient in an exam room."
"A very good meeting," he said.
As for the MAHA movement led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Republicans say Nesheiwat represents the vision of the Trump administration. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said Nesheiwat "understands the MAHA movement."
"With the Trump admin, American health is no longer taking a back seat," Banks said.
Additionally, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said that "Making America Healthy Again starts with having strong leadership" within Health and Human Services.
"I know that @DoctorJanette, President Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General, will be a fierce MAHA advocate and will work with @SecKennedy to increase transparency in our healthcare system," Tuberville said.
Nesheiwat began her medical education at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. She completed her initial curriculum at the school's Saint Maarten campus. She then went on to complete her clinical rotations at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Metropolitan State Hospital, Guy's & St. Thomas Hospitals and Medway Maritime Hospital.
Nesheiwat completed her family medicine residence at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Area Health Education Center, and was elected chief resident during her final year.
In 2009, Nesheiwat achieved board certification in family medicine for the American Board of Family Medicine, and in 2020 achieved board certification in urgent care medicine with the American Board of Urgent Care Medicine.
Nesheiwat’s hearing is set for May 8 at 10:00 a.m., when senators on the Senate HELP Committee, will question her ahead of her confirmation vote.
The US is calling on food companies to remove all synthetic food dyes by 2027.
Announcing the move, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said food companies are open to the change.
Here's the evidence on synthetic dyes and health issues like cancer and ADHD.
US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday that he has ordered food companies to remove eight petroleum-based dyes from their products.
Speaking alongside the FDA and food activists, Kennedy said brands will have until 2027 to voluntarily reformulate their food and drinks using natural dyes like carmine, turmeric, and beets — or add warning labels to their products.
The move comes three months after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned Red 3, shortly before the Trump administration took office.
The eight dyes under scrutiny today include Citrus Red No 2 and Orange B, which are not widely produced. Those two should be dropped with immediate effect, FDA Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary said.
Others are more commonly used. Red 40 is used in Gatorade, Doritos, and Skittles. Yellow 5 is used in Vigo's saffron rice, Fruit Loops, and some mustards. Blue 1 is used in Mountain Dew Baja Blast. Green 3 is used in Nyquil.
The benefit of using these petroleum-based dyes is economic — they're cheaper, stable year-round, and less prone to fading than fruits, vegetables, and spices. Hydrocarbons, extracted during petroleum refinement, are fused with salts to create a vibrant color.
However, consumer advocates and researchers have raised concerns about health risks.
Kennedy, who made synthetic food dyes a central concern in his presidential campaign of 2024, thanked "warrior moms who power the MAHA movement" for galvanizing political appetite for this change.
During the press conference, Makary said "kids have been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals." He cited studies that found links between synthetic food dyes and health issues like ADHD and cancer.
Here's what we know about the link between synthetic food dyes and health problems:
The science of food dyes and ADHD
Kennedy has repeatedly said that he believes artificial food dyes cause ADHD in children.
Over a decade ago, US and European regulators reviewed the same evidence linking synthetic food dyes to ADHD in kids — but they drew different conclusions.
The EU concluded that the evidence was persuasive. Since then, many European brands have started using natural dyes instead. Products that contain synthetic dyes must display an ADHD warning for consumers.
The FDA, however, said more research was needed to warrant a change. (To date, no federal studies have been conducted.)
A decade later, in 2021, researchers in the California EPA reviewed the available evidence on seven artificial food dyes. They concluded that synthetic dyes can affect behavior in some kids. California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded, ordering food companies to remove dyes from snacks in public schools by 2027.
The big question is: why would dyes impact kids' behavior?
Scientists don't know for sure, since there are no large-scale, randomized control trials. One study found it might have something to do with how food dyes interact with histamine. Another study found that red dye probably doesn't have a huge influence on kids' brains, but it seems to fuel hyperactivity in the short term.
There may be a genetic factor at play. UK researchers found evidence that some children appear to be more susceptible to the effects of food dye than others, based on their genes.
Some dyes in the food system have been linked to cancer
In the late 1980s, scientists found male lab rats exposed to high levels of Red 3 developed thyroid tumors.
Based on that study, the FDA declared Red 3 a carcinogen in 1990, and announced a ban on the dye in cosmetics.
However, it took 30 years to see a ban on Red 3 in food. The dye remained in food and drink, in part due to lobbying from the maraschino cherry industry, which holds sway in many cherry-producing states.
Earlier this year, driven by public demand, the Biden administration's FDA delivered a ban on Red 3 in food and drinks, giving food companies until 2027 to phase out the dye.
"The FDA cannot authorize a food additive or color additive if it has been found to cause cancer in humans or animals," Jim Jones, then the FDA's deputy director for human foods, said in a statement when he announced the ban in January.
Consumer advocates have pushed for bans on other dyes, voicing concerns about cancer risk.
A review published in 2012 linked red 40 to multiple cancers. FDA tests conducted in the early 1990s concluded that some batches of Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 have been contaminated with carcinogens such as benzidine. The agency said the risk is too low to warrant concern.
Less evidence for other health issues
Beyond ADHD and cancer, Makary said petroleum-based food dyes are linked to allergic reactions in kids. That's based on a few studies that found dyes like Red 40 and Yellow 5 can cause hives in some people.
Makary also said synthetic dyes may be linked to insulin, genomic disruption, and GI issues. Evidence is limited to tests in petri dishes and animals, and more research is needed in humans. Here's what we know so far:
In an emailed statement, the National Confectioners Association, which represents US candy companies, pushed back against the proposal to nix synthetic dyes.
"FDA and regulatory bodies around the world have deemed our products and ingredients safe," the NCA said, adding that they want to work with the Trump administration to "eliminate consumer confusion and rebuild trust in our national food safety system."
But Makary was bullish in the press conference. Holding up a bottle of juice, he said: "To the companies currently using these dyes, try watermelon juice."
A young girl collapsed near the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office while President Donald Trump spoke during a Friday swearing-in ceremony for former heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, who rushed over to assist the child.
A White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital that the girl was a family member of Oz's who fainted during the ceremony and that she has recovered.
Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. swore in Oz to oversee the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Senate confirmed Oz on April 3, and he is now tasked with managing nearly $1.5 trillion in federal healthcare spending.
In addition to leading the Medicare and Medicaid services, he will oversee the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). He will be responsible for issuing decisions on how the government will cover procedures, hospital stays and medication.
At the ceremony, Oz laid out his priorities in the role to advance the "Make America Healthy Again" movement that Kennedy is spearheading, and instituting reform for Medicare and Medicaid.
"Healthy people don't consume healthcare resources," Oz said in regard to the so-called "MAHA" movement. "The best way to reduce drug spending is to use less drugs, because you don't need them."
"Next big thing we want to focus on is modernizing Medicare and Medicaid," Oz said. "That's how Americans will get the care that they want, need and deserve. Need to empower patients and providers, both the doctors and the patients, both have to be equipped with better tools."
Lastly, Oz said he would seek to weed out any fraud or abuse within the Medicare and Medicaid systems.
Medicare is a government healthcare program that provides coverage to roughly 65 million Americans aged 65 or older, according to the Center for Medicare Advocacy. Medicaid is a federal assistance program for approximately 72 million low-income Americans, according to Medicaid.gov.
Oz received medical and business degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and became a household name during television stints that include "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and 13 seasons of "The Dr. Oz Show."
Fox News' Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
While autism experts claim that the rise in cases stems from greater awareness and improved diagnostic testing, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shut down that idea Wednesday and, instead, attributed the rise in cases to environmental factors.
Those who discount that environmental exposure is a factor in rising autism cases are engaging in "epidemic denial," Kennedy told reporters Wednesday.
Kennedy appeared at HHS's headquarters in Washington, D.C., to discuss the latest findings on autism included in a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey released Tuesday.
"This is coming from an environmental toxin, and somebody made a profit by putting that environmental toxin into our air, our water, our medicines, our food," Kennedy said. "And it's to their benefit to say ‘Oh, to normalize it, to say all this is all normal, it's always been here.’ That's not good for our country."
Even so, the CDC's own new survey Kennedy addressed found that autism prevalence is on the rise and said the increase "might be due to differences in availability of services for early detection and evaluation and diagnostic practices."
Specifically, the survey found that one in 31 8-year-old children were diagnosed with autism in 2022 – up from one in 36 in 2000.
Additionally, the survey determined that autism rates were far more common for boys than girls. While one in 20 boys is diagnosed with autism, those numbers go down to one in 70 for girls.
While Kennedy acknowledged Wednesday there may be some genetic vulnerabilities that could contribute to increased odds of an autism diagnosis, he said the autism rates spiked starting in 1989 and that some new environmental toxin must have been introduced around that time.
"Why are we not seeing it in older people? Why is this only happening in young people?" Kennedy said. "Have you ever seen anybody our age – I'm 71 years old – with full blown autism? Head-banging, non-verbal, non-toilet-trained."
As a result, Kennedy said HHS' studies would examine toxins including mold, pesticides, air, water, different medications, as well as the age and obesity rates of parents, among other things.
"We’re going to look at all the potential culprits," Kennedy said.
HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital regarding the apparent discrepancy between Kennedy's remarks and the CDC survey.
Kennedy signaled Thursday in a Cabinet meeting at the White House that the administration would kick off a massive research initiative to understand the cause of autism by September.
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to policy and legal advocacy on behalf of those with autism, pushed back against Kennedy’s statements in the Cabinet meeting and claimed Kennedy refused to acknowledge studies that point to genes as the underlying cause of autism.
"There is no evidence that autism is actually becoming more common (rather, we as a society are getting better at identifying it, and diagnostic standards have appropriately been widened)," the network said in a Thursday statement. "Even if it were, however, autistic and other disabled people belong in our society. To claim otherwise, and to speak as though our existence is some kind of calamity that must be eliminated, is a form of eugenics."
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced a plan to restrict the types of food that can be purchased with food stamps, becoming one of the first governors to seek federal permission to ban items like soda and candy from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
At a news conference at the Arkansas Capitol Tuesday, Sanders said her administration had submitted a waiver request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that would prohibit the use of SNAP benefits for soft drinks, artificially sweetened candy and snacks made with flour, while expanding eligible items to include hot rotisserie chicken, which is currently excluded.
"Right now you can use food stamps to buy a soft drink or a candy bar from a gas station, but you can't use them to buy an Arkansas-raised hot rotisserie chicken from a grocery store," Sanders said. "That’s the definition of crazy."
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins praised Sanders' move in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"Gov. Sanders is confronting childhood disease head on, and it starts with what families consume," Rollins said. "Today’s waiver announcement is a welcome one, and I look forward to moving through the approval process swiftly. I encourage more states across the nation to follow the bold lead of states like Arkansas as we Make America Healthy Again."
The waiver request is part of the Trump administration’s "Make America Healthy Again" or MAHA agenda, which seeks to address chronic disease and healthcare costs by reforming federal nutrition programs.
"We finally have a president who, along with Secretary Rollins, has put a laser focus on solving America’s chronic disease epidemic," Sanders said. "Reforming food stamps is a great place to start."
Trump's policies on food and health are taking the spotlight in his second administration, with a shift toward state-driven solutions focused on prevention rather than treatment. The MAHA initiative is led in part by Rollins and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who also appeared Tuesday at a similar SNAP reform announcement in Indiana.
Speaking in Arkansas, Rollins praised the state’s leadership.
"What we are doing here today is affirming the value of federalism in all aspects of governance," she said. "No federal bureaucrat can understand the needs of Arkansas families better than their own governor."
Rollins added that SNAP reform was a key issue for Trump.
"This is one of the things he campaigned on, and this is what the American people voted for," she said.
Sanders said the program, originally designed to fight hunger, has been twisted by outdated regulations and perverse incentives.
"One third of our state has diabetes or is prediabetic," she said. "We’re paying for it on the front end and the back end."
The waiver would affect nearly 350,000 Arkansas residents enrolled in SNAP and is scheduled to take effect in July 2026 if approved.
According to Sanders, 23% of SNAP spending, or $27 billion per year, is used on soft drinks, candy and desserts, while the state spends $300 million annually treating chronic illness through Medicaid.
"This is not about taking anything away," she said. "It’s simply saying that taxpayers are no longer going to cover the cost of junk food like candy and soft drinks."
Rollins praised Arkansas's SNAP reform plan as a bold step toward improving public health, calling Sanders "courageous" for addressing childhood disease through nutrition.
"We are working to realign USDA and every taxpayer dollar around what is the best and most effective spend," Rollins said.
Arkansas Department of Human Services Secretary Kristi Putnam noted that the same state agency running SNAP also manages Medicaid.
"In one program, we’ve subsidized foods that we know make people less healthy. In the other, we’re devoting significant resources to treating the same conditions brought on by unhealthy food," she said. "This makes no sense."
Critics, including the Food Research and Action Center, have argued the restrictions are punitive and unsupported by data. Trade groups representing beverage and candy manufacturers have also criticized the move.
As reported by The Associated Press, American Beverage accused officials of "choosing to be the food police," while the National Confectioners Association called the plan "misguided."
Sanders addressed concerns about food costs, noting her administration’s work to eliminate the state grocery tax.
"I think you'd be hard-pressed to say that you're gonna be better off having purchased a pack of Skittles and that your hunger is gonna be satisfied after that purchase," she said.
Rollins stressed that funding levels for SNAP would not change. "It just opens up the opportunity to buy better and more healthy food moving forward," she said.
The Arkansas waiver request was formally submitted Tuesday and includes a 30-day public comment period. The USDA and the governor’s office are expected to begin coordination on implementation details this week.
"We’re hopeful that this gets done very quickly," Sanders said.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited employees at the FDA on Friday and reportedly told them that "the Deep State is real." The visit was his first appearance with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and was reportedly meant to welcome the new chief.
"President Trump always talks about the Deep State, and the media, you know, disparages him and says that he’s paranoid," Kennedy said according to Politico, which reported it obtained an audio recording and transcript of the secretary’s remarks. "But the Deep State is real. And it’s not, you know, just George Soros and Bill Gates and a bunch of nefarious individuals sitting together in a room and plotting the, you know, the destruction of humanity."
According to multiple reports, Kennedy pointed the finger at "institutional pressures."
Kennedy also reportedly said the FDA had become a "sock puppet" of the industries it was meant to regulate. NBC News reported that Kennedy said that this was the case with "every agency," not just the FDA.
One area where Kennedy said he has seen this within the FDA is its Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) system, which he says acts as a "loophole" for food companies. In March, Kennedy directed the FDA to reevaluate its policies on food companies obtaining approval before adding new ingredients to their products. He believes that "eliminating this loophole" will not only provide consumers with more transparency, but will be key in improving Americans’ health.
The HHS secretary has not hidden his disdain for the FDA, especially as he spoke throughout the 2024 election cycle about what changes he believes are crucial to improving Americans’ health. About a week and a half before the election, Kennedy — who had already endorsed now-President Donald Trump — issued clear warnings on social media to those who "work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system."
He told them to preserve their records and to "pack your bags."
Kennedy recently embarked on a MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) tour in which he visited Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. According to HHS, Kennedy was set to speak on state laws banning ultra-processed foods and food dyes from school lunches, among other regulations.
Fox News Digital reached out to HHS for comment on the reports outside working hours but did not receive a response for publication.
As a prominent vaccine skeptic, Kim Mack Rosenberg was elated when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took the reins at the Department of Health and Human Services. She's been a key player in RFK's movement to Make America Healthy Again, serving as the general counsel for Children's Health Defense, the nonprofit he founded in 2015.
But as the mother of an adult son with autism, Mack Rosenberg has been alarmed by the Trump administration's moves to slash federal aid to Americans with disabilities. In his first two months in office, Trump has frozen support for Medicaid, which pays for home- and community-based services for millions of people who need assistance with daily living. He's also moving quickly to dismantle the Department of Education, which oversees special education in public schools and enforces the rights of students with disabilities. Advocates say the cuts could deprive children with autism of individualized support in school, subject them to discrimination and excessive discipline, and even cause kids who are especially sensitive to shifts in their daily routines to harm themselves.
"I don't think it's a good idea that all these changes are happening very quickly," says Mack Rosenberg. "I know of families with children who have severe self-injury behavior and they can't leave the house. It will be very, very difficult if Medicaid funding is substantially cut. We may be hearing more of these sad stories, and it's really just a tragedy."
The White House has insisted that services like speech and occupational therapy that are under the purview of the Education Department would be taken over by HHS and other federal agencies. But the cuts have left some of Trump and Kennedy's most fervent supporters feeling baffled and betrayed.
Jill Escher, the president of the National Council on Severe Autism, says many parents of children with disabilities were relieved "to see Trump and RFK take the autism epidemic seriously. A lot of us in the autism community were grateful for the long overdue recognition of this crisis." But now, she says, "people are desperately afraid of having their children's services cut. It's a one step forward, one step back situation."
Kennedy's focus on autism helped turn vaccine skeptics and "crunchy" moms into a potent political force, enabling the MAGA movement to appeal to voters who have particular views on issues like food safety and childhood illness. In return, Trump placed Kennedy in charge of a vast swath of federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health.Last month, the CDC announced it would conduct a large-scale study to reexamine whether vaccines increase the likelihood of children developing autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders — a conspiracy theory that has already been disproven by decades of major medical studies.
But the Trump administration's aggressive moves to cripple the federal bureaucracy and slash federal spending have caught many of his supporters off guard. Last month, when Kennedy announced plans to eliminate 10,000 jobs at HHS, he sought to reassure Americans that the unprecedented cuts would actually result in increased services to those in need. "We're going to provide services, but more efficiently," Kennedy said. "I want to promise you now that we're going to do more with less."
Announcements like that have Ashley Waldman feeling worried. The mother of a 5-year-old daughter with autism supports "anything that elevates the issue of our food system and what is in our bodies." Waldman, who lives in Austin, recently launched a flavored milk company, Jubilee, which was inspired by her search for healthy foods that her daughter would enjoy.
But now she's feeling confused about the Trump administration's recent moves. "They're espousing things to do better for kids with autism," she says. "But on the other hand, they're doing something that directly impacts them in a negative way. The stuff we care about is our kids' health and our kids' education."
Waldman's daughter has benefited from federally funded services in her public pre-K classes, including speech therapy and staff who help her use a wobble chair and weighted vest to improve her focus. Having teachers who specialize in educating students with disabilities enables schools to provide kids in need with support like extra time on tests and excused absences for medical appointments. But special education departments already face high staff turnover rates, and Waldman fears that eliminating the Department of Education could make things even worse. Without sufficient support and supervision, kids with autism can become emotionally dysregulated, leading to severe mood swings including sadness, anger, and irritability.
"When schools have all these substitute teachers, how are they supposed to learn the different interventions for 10 or 15 students?" Waldman says. "They can't, so the kids are dysregulated all day. That's the nightmare situation I'm trying to avoid."
Despite the deep federal cuts, many MAHA parents remain committed to Trump and Kennedy. "Anything that Bobby is involved in will be more effective and more empathetic," says Zen Honeycutt, a longtime Kennedy supporter who has a child with autism. "I have no doubts that his influence will be tremendous."
But doubts are growing even among those who remain supportive of Kennedy. Len Arcuri, who cohosts the "Autism Parenting Secrets" podcast with his wife, Cass, is thrilled that RFK oversees America's health infrastructure. "I've been dreaming about this for over 10 years now," he says. But he's worried that Kennedy's long-term goals for improving public health could have adverse consequences in the short term.
Arcuri recalls how his teenage son, who has autism, "flourished in the local elementary school," thanks in part to programs backed by federal dollars. He now worries that grade schoolers with autism could miss out on similar services. "I am hopeful that the right people with the right intentions now will devise a plan that will get us to a much better place, where families are being helped with minimal, unnecessary bureaucracy," he says. Still, he adds, "It's going to be done imperfectly. There's going to be a lot of collateral damage."
That view — that deep cuts to the federal government will help Americans with disabilities in the long run — is small comfort to parents who are facing the loss of critical services for their children now. That's especially true for kids who are severely disabled and may rely on Medicaid for intensiveand costly care, including home health aides, support groups, and respite care for caregivers.
Escher, the autism advocate, has two adult children with nonverbal autism. She says the fear that plagues all parents of children with severe disabilities is what long-term care for their kids will look like after they die. If they can no longer depend on Medicaid and other government assistance, it's difficult to keep the faith that Kennedy is actually going to make America healthier for those they love.
"These are real people, with real lives and real needs," Escher says. "We can't just wish it away."
Gabby Landsverk is a senior reporter at Business Insider, covering health, nutrition and fitness.
West Virginia will begin prohibiting certain synthetic dyes and additives used in food items sold in the state following the passage of a bill that marks the most comprehensive effort to regulate food ingredients at the state level.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, on Monday signed House Bill 2354 into law, which will implement the ban on a tiered basis.
Starting Aug. 1, seven different artificial food dyes will no longer be allowed for use in school lunches. Beginning Jan. 1, 2028, the same food dyes and two additional food preservatives will not be allowed in any food products sold in the state.
Red Dye No. 3, Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5, Yellow Dye No. 6, Blue Dye No. 1, Blue Dye No. 2 and Green Dye No. 3 will all be banned from school lunches starting in August. The same food dyes, plus the preservatives butylated hydroxyanisole and propylparaben, will then be banned from all food items sold in the state beginning in 2028.
While several states have introduced or passed similar bills, West Virginia's marks the broadest and most sweeping action on this issue by any state, per local and national media reports. Proponents of the West Virginia bill have suggested the move will help improve health outcomes, particularly for children, but those who are against it argue the move will lead to higher food prices.
"West Virginia ranks at the bottom of many public health metrics, which is why there’s no better place to lead the Make America Healthy Again mission," Morrisey said after signing the new bill. "By eliminating harmful chemicals from our food, we’re taking steps toward improving the health of our residents and protecting our children from significant long-term health and learning challenges."
Morrisey also thanked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Trump administration "for helping us launch this movement right here in West Virginia."
Earlier this month, Kennedy instructed FDA officials to explore potential changes to its "Substances Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS)" standards that apply regulatory classification to substances added to food. Kennedy has long been a proponent of food safety and said as HHS secretary he wants to promote "radical transparency" on the issue.
"We want the dyes out of the food," Kennedy told Fox News earlier this month.
The issue isn't entirely a Republican one, either. In January, under former President Joe Biden, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked its authorization of Red Dye No. 3 following pressure from consumer advocates.
However, American Beverage, a leading national trade organization representing the nation's top non-alcoholic beverage companies, said the new West Virginia bill will significantly limit consumer choices, raise grocery store prices, impact jobs and impose new costs on businesses.
"We want to be really clear about the impact of this sweeping ban, it will hurt West Virginians, both consumers, workers and the overall economy, all over ingredients that have been proven safe," said Meridith Potter, American Beverage senior vice president.
"West Virginians deserve choice, information and facts, not fear," Potter added. "The fact is, this bill will take away choices from West Virginians by eliminating products in nearly every aisle of the grocery store."
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has canceled hundreds of National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants—worth over $350 million—funding projects related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and gender ideology, according to a department official.
The cuts included slashing projects studying "multilevel and multidimensional structural racism," "gender-affirming hormone therapy in mice" and "microaggressions," among others.
In total, there were more than 500 research grants related to DEI and progressive gender ideology that the administration terminated.
"HHS is taking action to terminate more than $350 million in research funding that is not aligned with NIH and HHS priorities," HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement. "The terminated research grants are simply wasteful in studying things that do not pertain to American’s health to any significant degree, including DEI and gender ideology. As we begin to Make America Healthy Again, it's important to prioritize research that directly affects the health of Americans."
One of the grants cut included nearly $1 million to scientists at the University of Maryland-Baltimore for a research project titled, "Assessing intersectional multilevel and multidimensional structural racism for English- and Spanish-speaking populations in the US." The project included work to create an "intersectional, multilevel, and multidimensional Structural Racism Measure" in order to "eliminate health disparities and discrimination" for racial minorities.
"There is an urgent public health need to collect valid and reliable data on structural racism before effective interventions to reduce structural racism can be designed," the project's description stated.
Multiple projects studying transgender medical treatments in mice were also among those cut. One of those grants provided close to $1 million to Emory University researchers to study how transgender hormone treatments impact the skeletal maturation of mice, titled, "Microbiome mediated effects of gender affirming hormone therapy in mice." Another project worth roughly $50,000 worked to understand "how chromosomal makeup and cross-sex hormone administration" impacts wound healing in mice.
A separate research project that did not use mice got nearly $1 million "to study possible genomic associations with gender identity."
Grants focused on recruiting scientists based on their race or ethnicity were also slashed by the Trump administration. A grant worth more than $5 million to researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help "achieve more racial and ethnic diversity among our scientific research faculty," included a commitment to hire at least 18 tenure-track faculty "from minoritized racial and ethnic groups."
Soon after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, he directed federal agencies, including HHS, to temporarily freeze the issuance of new federal grants. The action was to ensure each agency's funding was in compliance with Trump's new policies and requirements, including those around getting rid of DEI and progressive gender ideology in the public sector.
A judge subsequently issued an order temporarily blocking the administration's funding freeze, and shortly thereafter, the Trump administration rescinded its memo directing the funding halt. A short time after that, the NIH resumed important meetings and travel associated with the agency's grant-review process.
In addition to reviewing NIH's grant funding to ensure it aligns with the president's policies, Trump also implemented a 15% cap on facilities and administrative costs included in research grant awards.
The administration's actions targeting NIH research have generated widespread backlash. Earlier this month, Trump's pick to be the next NIH director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, was peppered with questions from Democrats during his confirmation hearing over whether he would step in to prevent the president from slashing what they deemed critically important research projects.
Bhattacharya would not explicitly say he disagreed with the cuts, or that, if confirmed, he would step in to stop them. Rather, he said he would "follow the law," while also investigating the impact of the cuts and ensuring every NIH researcher doing work that advances the health outcomes of Americans has the resources necessary to do their work.
Bhattacharya also laid out what he called a new, decentralized vision for future research at NIH that he said will be aimed at embracing dissenting ideas and transparency, while focusing on research topics that have the best chance at directly benefiting the health outcomes of Americans. Bhattacharya said that he wants to rid the agency's research portfolio of other "frivolous" efforts that he says do little to directly benefit health outcomes.
Health and Human Services Department (HHS) employees have been offered up to $25,000 to part ways with the agency in order to help it downsize under President Donald Trump's plans to shrink the federal workforce.
In the email sent on Friday, the HHS, which is led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., said it has received authorization from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to offer Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments.
The OPM "allows agencies that are downsizing or restructuring to offer employees lump-sum payments up to $25,000 as an incentive to voluntarily separate," according to the email. This incentive is aimed at those who are in surplus positions or have skills that are no longer needed within their department.
The payment is available to most employees within the HHS, which includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Employees also have the option to take the payment if they are eligible for optional or early retirement, according to the OPM's website.
"By allowing employees to volunteer to leave the Government, agencies can minimize or avoid involuntary separations through the use of costly and disruptive reductions in force," the website stated.
There are around 80,000 people currently working for the HHS in some capacity, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The offer becomes available on Monday and forms must be submitted to local HR offices by Friday at 5 p.m.
The HHS is the second-costliest federal agency and accounts for 20.6% of America's budget for Fiscal Year 2025 with $2.4 trillion in budgetary resources, according to USASpending.gov. Most of that money is spent by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.
The only agency with more spending power is the Department of the Treasury.
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a member of the newly created Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) senatorial caucus, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that one of the first hearings he wants to hold as chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations would focus on "the corruption of science" within the public health system.
Johnson said he hopes the MAHA caucus will "restore integrity" to the scientific community while adhering to recently confirmed Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s other agenda items.
"That's just foundational, we have to do that first," Johnson said. "I think we need to give the … COVID injection injured a fair hearing."
Created in December by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas – who is also a physician – the MAHA caucus "will focus on nutrition, access to affordable, high-quality-nutrient-dense foods, improving primary care, and addressing the root causes of chronic diseases," acting as a congressional arm for implementing RFK Jr.'s agenda.
So far, the only other members of the caucus are Republicans, but Johnson said the MAHA movement is largely nonpartisan. Other issues Johnson hopes the coalition will explore are the childhood vaccine schedule and potential theories behind the cause of autism.
"We haven't even been allowed to ask these questions," Johnson said. "I'd like to hold a hearing on what questions remain unanswered, what science needs to be conducted with integrity to start answering these questions."
"We can certainly reveal the fact that there are legitimate questions that are outstanding that the American people want answers to in a completely nonpartisan way," he said.
Johnson said the HHS and scientific community were "captured by Big Pharma" and Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci is currently facing the ire of Republicans for unanswered questions about taxpayer-funded gain-of-function research.
He said MAHA's goal is "to end that corporate capture of federal health agencies" and "reinstall in federal agencies their real mission, which is on behalf of the American public."
And a new bill he said he may introduce could address that by restoring "doctors to the top of the treatment pyramid" instead of having their hands tied by associations and health groups.
"We should have a bill, and I would call it ‘Right to Treat,’" Johnson said. "Right now, they're being crushed at the bottom of the pyramid, and the pyramid starts with people like Anthony Fauci, basically non-practicing physicians, telling doctors how to take care of their patients. That's completely backwards. We need to re-establish doctors at the top of the treatment pyramid."
RFK Jr. was confirmed by the Senate last week in a 52-48 vote, nearly entirely along party lines. Kennedy's controversial hearings focused on his previous public statements about vaccines. Kennedy has been critical of "Big Pharma" and "Big Food" on the campaign trail during his own independent bid for the presidency and continues in the MAHA movement under Trump's administration.
"Our country is not going to be destroyed because we get the marginal tax rate wrong. It is going to be destroyed if we get this issue wrong," Kennedy said of the increase in chronic illnesses. "And I am in a unique position to be able to stop this epidemic."
Since RFK Jr.'s swearing-in, Trump has issued sweeping firings across several federal departments, including HHS, leading to a protest led by federal employees outside HHS in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
Louisiana's surgeon general, Dr. Ralph Abraham, said his goal was to get politics out of medicine and improve patients' informed consent when he decided to issue a directive ending mass vaccination programs in his state.
Critics have decried Abraham's directive as anti-science and hyper-political, while also arguing it could further hamper an already overburdened health sector. Others have suggested the move will actually serve to decrease confidence in public health rather than improve it, as Abraham foresees.
But, he argues, the move is a critical step toward keeping patients in control of their healthcare, and serves to "depoliticize medicine" rather than further politicize it.
"In my opinion, it is probably not the best thing to just simply go into a herd mentality – just line up – and get a shot," Abraham said during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. "Why would somebody want to do that when they can have that conversation? If you have these mass vaccination events, it takes away that patient-doctor relationship because that conversation then never happens."
Following the announcement of the new directive, a group of Louisiana medical associations accused Abraham of politicizing vaccines. However, Abraham countered that these criticisms were unfounded.
"People say, 'Well, you're putting politics into medicine.' No. Politics was in medicine from the get-go, starting with COVID," Abraham said. "My job and my role and my desire is to depoliticize medicine. And the way you do that is to get that patient and that doctor on a one-on-one."
Abraham, the state's first surgeon general, ordered his staff last week to stop engaging in media campaigns, community health fairs and other mass vaccination efforts that encourage people to get vaccinated without any prior consultation with a doctor.
The move garnered backlash, including from GOP Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician himself. Cassidy said that Abraham's order was ignoring "the reality of people's lives," arguing events like vaccine fairs "keep a child from having to miss school and a mother from having to miss work."
"To say that cannot occur and that someone must wait for the next available appointment ignores that reality," Cassidy argued.
Other critics who spoke to ABC News suggested Abraham's directive aimed, in part, at restoring confidence that has been lost in public health, will serve to continue to diminish it. They also argue that in an industry that has a shortage of healthcare workers, getting rid of mass vaccination programs could actually serve to overburden the industry even more, and potentially cost lives.
But Abraham said his critics were "cherry-picking what they want to fuss about."
"If you look at the overall picture that we presented – if they argue with just good common sense, and if they argue with wanting to get that patient-doctor relationship back to where it's supposed to be, then, you know, they're just not debating in a very fair and logical manner."
A former member of Congress and supporter of newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Abraham said he was "in no form or fashion" anti-vaccine. He added that as a family medicine physician he "always" recommends childhood immunizations, and called the Tetanus vaccine "life-saving."
"There are some vaccines that are good for most people. There are some vaccines that are good for some people. There are some vaccines that are good for a few people. And there are some vaccines that are good for no one," Abraham said.
When asked about how he would respond to critics who would call his and Kennedy's skeptical views on vaccines anti-science, Abraham said, "I would love to debate them."
"I have science on my side that shows that these things that they are saying work certainly do not work [the way they claim]," Abraham said. "This statement we came out with – that LDH has done – it has certainly promoted conversation about these issues. That's a good thing."
Abraham told Fox News Digital that the move will not impact vaccine distribution in the state and the Louisiana Department of Health will still provide them as they have in the past. He also said the move will help clear up limited resources.
State-level lawmakers are introducing a wave of bills aimed at advancing priorities championed by new Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his "Make America Healthy Again" platform, in some cases citing the new administration's support for these causes as the catalyst for their efforts.
Arizona, Kansas and Utah are examples of states doing this. The move is aimed at prohibiting junk food like candy and soda from school lunches and other federally funded food assistance programs, something Kennedy has expressed support for in the past. Others have included efforts to rid these programs of ultra-processed foods, certain additives and dyes.
"It took Bobby to get into the position that he is in now for something to happen," Arizona state Rep. Leo Biasiucci said during a press conference this month during which he introduced HB 2164. The bill seeks to ban several food dyes and other additives from school lunch programs in the state. "I can’t thank him enough for being the microphone … at the high level, to finally put a spotlight on this."
Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Idaho, similarly touted the new administration as a reason why he thought his new bill to remove candy and soda from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, would be successful. The bill, HB 109, would require the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to seek a federal waiver to remove these items from SNAP. When asked by a fellow state lawmaker why he thought such a waiver to get rid of these foods would be successful, Redman cited a Trump administration that would be friendly to him.
"I think that the chances are higher now with the new administration," Redman said.
Wyoming, Kansas, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming have introduced similar bills aimed at reforming SNAP and school lunches.
In addition to dietary-related legislation, several states have also taken steps to amend their vaccine rules. During Kennedy's confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill, he was routinely grilled about his past skepticism towards vaccines. The new HHS secretary iterated to lawmakers at the time that he was not anti-vaccine, but rather "pro-safety."
Roughly a dozen states, including Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Texas have introduced a variety of changes.
Some of the new bills targeting state vaccine rules include protections for immunization exemptions, efforts to bolster vaccine transparency, revised requirements related to the administration of vaccines and efforts to hold vaccine manufacturers accountable for harmful side effects. Others prohibit any future COVID-19 vaccine mandates related to education, work or travel, with some providing an exception if state legislatures are able to pass a new bill requiring vaccinations for certain public health emergencies.
Meanwhile, bills expelling fluoride from public water systems are also being introduced at the state level, another change Kennedy has promoted in the past.
While states like Arkansas, Hawaii, New Hampshire, North Dakota and others have taken steps to introduce legislation preventing fluoride from being added to public water systems, other states, like Kentucky and Nebraska, are considering bills that would make fluoride optional.
At the federal level, the Senate's Make America Healthy Again Caucus, which was formed to back the policies of Kennedy's agenda, is reportedly readying a "package of bills" aimed at improving nutrition and the nation's agriculture sector, according to Politico.
"The MAHA Caucus is ready to get to work with Robert F. Kennedy Jr," the group's official X account stated on Friday after Kennedy's confirmation by the Senate.
