The Trump Administration’s First Week

On January 20, President Trump was sworn in for his second term as President of the United States. Due to weather conditions, for the first time since 1985, the oath of office was administered in the US Capitol. Witnessing the event were the President and Vice President’s family members, former presidents, members of Congress, members of the Supreme Court, the diplomatic corps, visiting dignitaries and the tech leaders Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos.  President Trump marked his first day in office by signing more than 25 Executive Orders covering a range of campaign promises.

Executive Orders

Among the dozens of executive orders issued by the White House this week are executive orders targeting federal DEI and accessibility efforts and transgender people. Following the DEI order, federal agencies were issued guidance from the Office of Personnel Management requiring them to eliminate all DEI initiatives, remove all external DEI resources, put DEI staff on paid leave, and report any known DEI programming or contracts.

HHS Communications and Travel Freeze

As first reported in the Washington Post and then widely confirmed by other outlets, the incoming administration issued a directive requiring all HHS agencies to halt public communications, external meetings, and travel with limited exceptions. Pauses in travel and communications have been the norm during previous presidential transitions. However, the pause has raised alarms that cancelling grant review meetings could interrupt critical research.

Appointments

The administration is continuing the process of appointing acting heads for HHS agencies. Appointments to acting roles this week include: Dorothy Fink, MD, as Acting HHS Secretary; Leith J. States, MD, MPH, formerly of OIDP, as Acting Assistant Secretary of Health;  Susan Coller Monarez, MD, MPH from ARPA-H as Acting CDC Director; and Matthew J. Memoli, MD, MS, formerly of NAIAD, as Acting NIH Director.

Hearings for HHS Secretary and others have been scheduled for next week.

FY’25 Appropriations

This week, House and Senate Appropriations leaders started the process of setting topline numbers to begin negotiations for all FY’25 bills, in hopes of reaching an agreement prior to March 14 when the current CR expires.  In addition to striking a deal on overall funding totals, lawmakers will also need to agree on whether to include legislation to raise the debt ceiling and additional disaster aid to address wildfires and flooding.