U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

HHS oversees all federal health agencies including the CDC, NIH, and FDA. - Led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Jay Bhattacharya co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration in October 2020, publicly opposing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's pandemic response policies. Five years later, he now controls both the CDC and the National Institutes of Health—the two largest federal public health agencies—making him the most powerful health official in America outside the cabinet.

Updated Feb 18

Federal agency overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, FDA, and CDC with approximately 90,000 employees. - Driving enforcement effort through declarations, investigations, and proposed rules

Lurie Children's Hospital opened the Midwest's first pediatric gender identity clinic in 2013. Thirteen years later, it announced it will no longer prescribe gender-affirming medications to new patients under 18—days after HHS General Counsel Mike Stuart referred the hospital for federal investigation. Lurie joins at least 40 hospital systems that have paused or ended pediatric gender services since January 2025, including Rady Children's Health—California's largest pediatric healthcare system—which announced on January 23, 2026, it will stop all gender-affirming medical interventions on February 6. On February 3, California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Rady for violating legally binding merger conditions that required the hospital to maintain gender-affirming care through 2034.

Updated Feb 6

Federal agency that administers child care subsidies and Medicaid programs exploited in Minnesota fraud schemes. - Froze $185M in Minnesota child care funding

On January 5, 2026, Governor Tim Walz became the highest-profile political casualty of Minnesota's welfare fraud crisis, announcing he would drop his bid for a third term. The stunning reversal came just two days before a contentious January 7 House Oversight Committee hearing where Republican state lawmakers testified that Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison ignored rampant fraud and silenced whistleblowers. Within 24 hours of that hearing, the Trump administration dramatically escalated its response: on January 6, HHS froze $10 billion in child care and family assistance funding to five Democratic states—California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York—citing fraud concerns but providing no evidence of wrongdoing outside Minnesota. A coalition of the five states sued immediately, and on January 9, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian granted a temporary restraining order blocking the freeze for 14 days. Hours later, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced USDA would suspend an additional $129 million in federal awards to Minnesota, prompting Ellison to vow 'I'll see you in court.'

Updated Jan 10

HHS supplies the medical rationale and is now tasked to broaden the evidence base for cannabis and CBD. - Provided scientific/medical recommendation and is tasked with expanded research models

Trump’s executive order instructing DOJ to fast-track marijuana’s move to Schedule III immediately triggered a familiar split-screen: public health and industry groups cheered the potential research and tax impacts, while House Republicans organized opposition, urging Trump to keep marijuana in Schedule I.

Updated Dec 18, 2025

HHS supplies the science-and-medicine backbone for U.S. drug scheduling decisions. - Provided scientific/medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation to DEA

4-CMC is one of those modern drug-market products built for speed: cheap, tweakable chemistry that can be sold as a “new” stimulant the moment the old one gets banned. On December 17, 2025, the U.S. finally snapped the trap shut—DEA’s Schedule I controls for 4-CMC took effect nationwide.

Updated Dec 17, 2025