Trump officials exerting unprecedented control over CDC scientific journal
Trump administration political appointees have taken steps in recent weeks to exert unprecedented influence over the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's flagship medical research publication, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, multiple federal health officials tell CBS News. The interference included dictating what to cover and withholding studies on the growing bird flu outbreak.
The Trump administration's moves to control the research published by the agency ends a decades-long streak of independence for the journal, known as the MMWR.
Health officials and experts have long considered the MMWR as the "voice of CDC" and a respected source where federal scientists release research of public health importance. It ranks as among the most-cited health journals in the world.
"The MMWR has lost its autonomy," one health official told CBS News.
Efforts by Trump officials to control the publication have stalled the release of three studies about bird flu for weeks, as the virus continues spreading through wild birds, poultry farms and cows around the country.
That delay was initially attributed to the communications "pause" ordered by the Department of Health and Human Services, which stalled many releases across the government.
Spokespeople for the CDC and HHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump officials initially said the gag order was needed for the administration to catch up in staffing its public relations team to oversee the vast amount of communications coming out of the nations' federal health agencies.
But as that pause has started to lift, Trump officials at HHS, and acting CDC Director Susan Monarez, refused repeated requests by career health officials to publish the completed research, officials say.
The stalled research includes findings about pet cats owned by dairy workers being infected with bird flu, plus wastewater testing results and antibody testing of cow veterinarians.
Instead, health officials say Monarez relayed orders by the Trump administration to come up with research to publish this week about the health risks from wildfires, days after President Trump criticized California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom's handling of fires in the state.
Federal scientists say they scrambled to find studies to comply with the order, which was unexpected and not related to any studies that had been scheduled to come out.
The research that was ultimately published looked at exposure to worrying chemicals for firefighters who responded to the 2023 wildfires in Hawaii and emergency room visits in Los Angeles during the wildfires.
Multiple health officials said they complied fearing their jobs. Scientists within the agency say they have been bombarded with daily requests to accept the "fork in the road" offer to resign by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, task force, headed by Elon Musk.
Glimpse at a study taken offline
A technical glitch resulted in a table from one of the bird flu studies accidentally being published on Thursday, before officials scrambled to take it down.
That bird flu study was supposed to lay out the details of an investigation into how two indoor cats could have contracted the virus. One of the cats' owners was a dairy worker who transported unpasteurized raw milk, which health officials warn is one of the main ways that H5N1 bird flu virus is spreading between farms in the U.S.
Multiple federal health officials and outside experts have unsuccessfully lobbied the Trump administration to allow the publication to maintain its independence, citing the importance of allowing federal public health researchers to publish their findings without fearing political interference.
While researchers often have to jump through multiple hoops of "clearance" within the agency to satisfy questions and concerns raised by scientists and career health officials about the accuracy of their research, officials said political appointees usually steered clear of meddling in its content.
Now health officials fear that a precedent has been set for the Trump administration to cross further lines in its attempts to influence the research and data published by the CDC.
Previous efforts by Trump-appointed officials to exert control over the publication came under scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Mr. Trump's first term, after aides sought to influence reports at the time.
It is now unclear to co-authors of the bird flu research outside the agency when the research will ever be published, weeks after it was ready to go.
"The study is completed and was to be published in MMWR last month until the order from the new administration halted communication from CDC," K. Fred Gingrich II, executive director of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, said in an email.
The association had worked with Ohio's health department and the CDC to sample the blood of veterinarians who treat cows at an annual conference late last year, looking for antibodies that would help answer an outstanding question: had bird flu cases infected veterinarians under the radar?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. ousts entire CDC vaccine panel
The Brief Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee. He claimed the committee had too many conflicts of interest and plans to appoint new members. The panel's work has been in limbo since Kennedy took office, including a delayed February meeting. WASHINGTON - Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday announced he had removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to use vaccines and pledged to replace them with his own picks. What they're saying Kennedy, who was one of the nation's leading anti-vaccine activists before becoming the nation's top health official, has not said who he would appoint to the panel, but said it would convene in just two weeks in Atlanta. Although it's typically not viewed as a partisan board, the Biden administration had installed the entire committee. "Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028," Kennedy wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. "A clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science. " Kennedy said the committee members had too many conflicts of interest. Committee members routinely disclose any possible conflicts at the start of public meetings. The other side Major physicians and public health groups criticized the move to oust all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, called Kennedy's mass ouster "a coup." "It's not how democracies work. It's not good for the health of the nation," Benjamin told The Associated Press. Benjamin said the move raises real concerns about whether future committee members will be viewed as impartial. He added that Kennedy is going against what he told lawmakers and the public, and the public health association plans to watch Kennedy "like a hawk." "He is breaking a promise," Benjamin said. "He said he wasn't going to do this." Dr. Bruce A. Scott, president of the American Medical Association, called the committee a trusted source of science- and data-driven advice and said Kennedy's move, coupled with declining vaccination rates across the country, will help drive an increase in vaccine-preventable diseases. "Today's action to remove the 17 sitting members of ACIP undermines that trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives," Scott said in a statement. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a doctor who had expressed reservations about Kennedy's nomination but voted to install him as the nation's health secretary nonetheless, said he had spoken with Kennedy moments after the announcement. "Of course, now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion," Cassidy said in a social media post. "I've just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I'll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the case. Dig deeper The 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices had been in a state of flux since Kennedy took over. Its first meeting this year had been delayed when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services abruptly postponed its February meeting. RELATED: RFK Jr. orders review of baby formula: What to know The backstory Kennedy, who was one of the nation's leading anti-vaccine activists before becoming the nation's top health official, recently took the unusual step of changing COVID-19 recommendations without first consulting the panel. The committee had been in a state of flux since Kennedy took over. Its first meeting this year had been delayed when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services abruptly postponed its February meeting. During Kennedy's confirmation, Cassidy had expressed concerns about preserving the committee, saying he had sought assurances that Kennedy would keep the panel's current vaccine recommendations. Kennedy did not stick to that. He recently took the unusual step of changing COVID-19 recommendations without first consulting the advisers. The webpage that featured the committee's members was deleted Monday evening, shortly after Kennedy's announcement. The Source The Associated Press contributed to this report. The information in this story comes from a Wall Street Journal opinion piece written by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as official records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This story was reported from Los Angeles.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Collins calls Kennedy's firing of vaccine experts ‘excessive'
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Monday called Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s firing of all 17 experts on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) vaccine panel 'excessive,' but she cautioned she needs to learn more about the decision. Kennedy announced the decision in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, catching many GOP lawmakers by surprise. 'I did not know that that had happened,' Collins, a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said. 'It seems to me to be excessive to ask for everybody's resignations, but I can't judge because I don't know who he's replacing them with.' The Maine senator said the CDC's vaccine advisory committee 'provided helpful guidance to the public on what they should do.' Collins said that Kennedy didn't promise members of the HELP Committee that he would keep the vaccine experts in place. 'I'm just learning about it for the first time,' she said. 'I don't know what the basis was.' Kennedy said in his Wall Street Journal column that he removed the experts so that President Trump could shape the membership of the committee. 'Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028,' he wrote. Kennedy argued that vaccines have become 'a divisive issue in American politics' and that public confidence is waning' in health agencies, pharmaceutical companies and vaccines themselves. 'That is why, under my direction, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is putting the restoration of public trust above any pro- or antivaccine agenda. The public must know that unbiased science guides the recommendations from our health agencies. This will ensure the American people receive the safest vaccines possible,' he wrote. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) in a statement blasted Kennedy's move as 'reckless.' 'RFK Jr. and the Trump administration are taking a wrecking ball to the programs that keep Americans safe and healthy. Firing experts that have spent their entire lives protecting kids from deadly disease is not reform — it's reckless, radical, and rooted in conspiracy, not science,' Schumer said in a statement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
COVID Crusader Writes Open Letter To RFK Jr On mRNA
A prominent group of health activists is threatening a political revolt against HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over what they call a betrayal of their movement's central cause. In a blistering open letter dated June 4, COVID crusader Dr. Mary Talley Bowden and several allies from the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement — a grassroots coalition of vaccine-critical and medical freedom activists — accused Kennedy and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary of watering down policies related to the controversial mRNA vaccine platform, especially in guidance affecting children and pregnant women. 'We did not fight for you to be in positions of leadership so that our clearly stated policy goals would suffer a 'bait and switch,'' Bowden wrote, warning Kennedy that MAHA voters 'can walk away' if their demands are not met. The letter criticizes recent CDC and FDA policy changes, calling them deceptive and insufficient, and claims the administration is engaging in 'linguistic misdirections' to hide the continued recommendation of mRNA shots for vulnerable populations. The MAHA letter insists the mRNA platform — particularly COVID vaccines — should be pulled from the market entirely, citing adverse event data and peer-reviewed studies. It demands sweeping reforms: a full ban on mRNA technologies, repeal of the PREP Act, elimination of vaccine-related conflicts of interest in federal agencies, and an end to direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising. The signatories include author Naomi Wolf, podcaster Shannon Joy, and several other activists who rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic by challenging government vaccine narratives. The backlash comes amid growing scrutiny of RFK Jr.'s recent actions as HHS secretary. Once one the nation's most vocal mRNA vaccine skeptic, Kennedy has walked a careful line in office, telling Congress in May that his personal views on vaccines are 'irrelevant' and vowing not to make sudden changes to CDC policy. 'I don't think people should be taking medical advice from me,' Kennedy told lawmakers, as reported by The Hill on June 2. Still, his critics on both sides see Kennedy's recent moves as consequential. Late last month, he released a 58-second video on X stating that COVID vaccines for healthy children and healthy pregnant women had been removed from the CDC's immunization schedule — a declaration Bowden and others say was misleading. Indeed, as The Hill previously reported, the CDC quietly changed its guidance to say healthy children may receive the COVID vaccine after consultation with a healthcare provider, while maintaining stronger recommendations for other vulnerable categories. For pregnant women, the recommendation was similarly softened but not eliminated, and pregnancy remains classified by the FDA as a high-risk health condition, allowing continued vaccine use under certain circumstances. Bowden's letter zeroes in on this ambiguity, arguing that wordplay is being used to sustain vaccine availability under the appearance of reform. 'Pregnant women have not been made any safer by your wordplay,' she writes, warning that MAHA activists are prepared to run their own candidates in upcoming elections if their demands are ignored. The political threat underscores the friction between Kennedy and the movement that once celebrated his nomination. While Kennedy has taken steps to reshape HHS in ways consistent with his skepticism — including canceling hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine— his first few months of actions have not thus far rendered the swift action that some would have hoped. Former CDC acting director Dr. Richard Besser and other public health experts have voiced alarm at Kennedy's willingness to circumvent the CDC's vaccine advisory panel, which has traditionally guided immunization policy through public, evidence-based deliberation. 'We're seeing a total side-stepping of the nation's leading public health agency,' Besser told The Hill. The vaccine panel has not yet weighed in on the updated COVID shot guidance. Its next meeting is scheduled for late June, and observers expect tense debate over whether Kennedy's changes represent science-based reform or political overreach. In the meantime, Bowden's warning reflects the fragile coalition Kennedy is attempting to hold together. The MAHA movement — built in part from disaffected MAGA voters, vaccine skeptics, and parents concerned about government overreach — played a pivotal role in rallying support for Kennedy's confirmation and the broader medical freedom agenda. Now, its leaders are openly questioning whether Kennedy's tenure will deliver the systemic change they demand — or whether they were simply used to fuel a political ascent. 'MAHA is not the possession of Secretary Kennedy,' Bowden wrote. 'It is the voice of millions of desperate parents… and their activism will outlast any administration.' The Dallas Express reached out to HHS but did not immediately receive a response. Kennedy previously spoke to The Dallas Express about a lawsuit Bowden brought against the FDA for misleading the public about using ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 during his presidential campaign in 2024 and just after the FDA settled the case. 'All three of the principal health agencies [CDC, NIH, FDA] suffer from agency capture,' Kennedy said. 'I would say 50% of the FDA's budget is from pharmaceutical companies. NIH scientists are allowed to collect royalties on drugs that they regulate –– which is clearly a conflict of interest. CDC … has devolved into an agency that primarily promotes the mercantile interests of the pharmaceutical companies.' He told DX that the agencies are overly influenced by perverse incentives from the pharmaceutical industry and added, 'I will change those incentives and unravel the culture of corruption that now has turned these agencies against public health.'
