Former CDC immunizations chief: ‘I only see harm coming’ with RFK Jr. leading HHS
ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) immunizations chief Dr. Demetre Daskalakis said Sunday that he’s concerned with the direction the agency is going and worried about public health going forward.
Daskalakis, who served as director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, submitted his resignation from the CDC on Wednesday in protest following the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) removing CDC Director Susan Monarez from her position. In his resignation letter, Daskalakis denounced HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership of both the HHS and the CDC.
“From my vantage point as a doctor who’s taken the Hippocratic Oath, I only see harm coming. I may be wrong, but based on what I’m seeing, based on what I’ve heard with the new members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, or ACIP, they’re really moving in an ideological direction where they want to see the undoing of vaccination,” Daskalakis told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz.
Daskalakis disagreed with changes to recommendations on who should get the new COVID-19 vaccine this fall, with the new dosage has been approved only for people aged 65 and up and children and adults with underlying health conditions that put them at high risk, creating confusion and uncertainty for people who want the latest vaccination who don’t meet these parameters.
Daskalakis said there is now no separation of political ideology and science with Kennedy leading HHS.
“I didn’t think that we were going to be able to present science in a way free of ideology, that the firewall between science and ideology has completely broken down. And not having a scientific leader at CDC meant that we wouldn’t be able to have the necessary diplomacy and connection with HHS to be able to really execute on good public health,” Daskalakis said in explaining why he resigned.
Former acting CDC Director Dr. Richard Besser, now president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, told Raddatz he’s heavily concerned amid the major shakeup at the CDC.
“The difference is going to be profound. The CDC is an absolutely critical piece of the protection for Americans from any public health threat. Now, with the director being removed, senior leadership leaving, I have great fears for what will happen to this country the next time we face a public health emergency, whether it’s a massive earthquake, a new infectious agent or, unfortunately, the next pandemic,” Besser said.
Besser also has concerns on how Kennedy’s opposition to vaccine mandates is going to impact public health.
“When I think about mandates, I think about children going to school. I think about young parents who are sending their children to school and want to know that their children are safe, and the way children are safe from vaccine-preventable diseases is by getting vaccinated themselves. But no vaccine is 100%. And so you count on the other children in that classroom being vaccinated. I think with this secretary, we are on a path to it being largely parental choice, and that is going to put at risk those people for whom the vaccine didn’t work and children who may have medical conditions where they can’t get vaccinated. That is a major step backwards for public health,” Besser said.
(WASHINGTON) — Back in April, President Donald Trump made his decadeslong view on tariffs the official policy of the United States by imposing sweeping levies on virtually all global trade partners.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will consider whether those tariffs are lawful and allowed to stand.
Trump is calling it the “most important” case before the court in its history.
As Supreme Court returns, major tests ahead for Trump’s presidential power In a sign of his personal stake in the issue, Trump had talked about going to watch the arguments himself, which would have likely made him the first sitting U.S. president to do so. But he reversed course on Sunday, saying he didn’t want to cause a distraction by attending.
“No, I don’t think so, because I don’t want to call a lot of attention to me. It’s not about me, it’s about our country,” he said.
“I wanted to go so badly, I just don’t want to do anything to deflect the importance of that decision,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he returned to Washington from a weekend in Florida.
The president has painted the outcome as existential to the country’s future.
“Everybody uses tariffs on us. If I wasn’t allowed to use tariffs on them, we would be a third rate — we would be a third world nation,” Trump said in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday.
Trump’s yearslong push for tariffs turned reality
When Trump unveiled his tariffs on April 2, a date he dubbed “Liberation Day” for the U.S., he described them as retribution for a grievance he’s held since the 1980s when he was a Manhattan real estate developer.
“I’ve been talking about it for 40 years because I saw what was happening 40 years ago,” Trump said.
“I’d be on a television show, I’d be talking about how we were being ripped off by these countries. I mean, nothing changes very much. The only thing that changed were the countries, but nothing really changes. It’s why it’s such an honor to be finally able to do this,” Trump added.
Trump that day declared trade deficits a national emergency as he hit nearly every country with a baseline 10% tariff rate and tougher, so-called “reciprocal” rates on countries he deemed as the worst trade offenders.
Since then, the administration says it has raked in billions of dollars in revenue and Trump has touted various deals with the United Kingdom, European Union, Japan, South Korea and most recently China.
But the tariff rollout led to economic uncertainty and concerns of price increases for American businesses and consumers. One recent estimate from the Yale Budget Lab said tariffs will cost U.S. households $1,700 per year.
A new poll from ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos found more than 6 in 10 American disapprove of how Trump is handling tariffs and the economy overall.
Tariffs central to economic agenda, but Trump uses them for more
Trump said on “60 Minutes” that he believed the U.S. economy would “go to hell” if the Supreme Court struck down his tariffs, now the cornerstone of his entire economic agenda.
But he has used tariffs for leverage not just in trade negotiations but in a number of foreign policy matters.
Trump said the threat of tariffs helped him bring an end to international conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand, India and Pakistan and more. He’s used them to pressure Mexico and China into pledging more action to curb the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs. Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil over the country’s prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro, a hard-line conservative who was convicted of trying to overthrow democracy.
Most Americans say country is on the wrong track, blame Trump for inflation: Poll Trump relied on the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose his tariffs, sidestepping Congress in the process. Trump on Sunday, during his “60 Minutes” interview, bemoaned it would take Congress too long to act if he didn’t have the power to impose tariffs himself.
“You want that power. You want that executive power,” CBS’s Norah O’Donnell asked Trump.
“You need it to ru– to protect our country. This is a national secure — tariffs are national security,” Trump said.
It’s the biggest– I think it’s one of the biggest decisions in the history of the Supreme Court,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — Beginning Saturday, some 42 million low-income Americans, including 16 million children, lost access to benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as the government shutdown continues.
The Department of Agriculture has said that funding for this month’s benefits, which it says comes to about $9.5 billion, has run dry.
A federal judge in Rhode Island temporarily ordered the Trump administration on Friday to continue SNAP funding, following a lawsuit by several states. Another judge in Boston ruled that the Trump administration’s attempt to suspend SNAP funding is “unlawful,” but declined to immediately order that the program be funded.
Trump said Friday that his administration’s lawyers are not sure they have the legal authority to pay for SNAP during the government shutdown and said he has asked for clarity from the courts in the wake of two recent decisions.
“If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay,” Trump said in a social media post.
The administration has used funds for other services to fund military pay during the shutdown.
SNAP has traditionally been entirely federally funded, but is administered by states. That means the shutdown’s impact on SNAP and when benefits will start to become unavailable will vary by state.
Some states have initiated their own contingency plans, using their own funding in most cases, to keep their SNAPs running.
Here is a list of what states have announced so far:
Arizona On Oct. 29, Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs announced the state would be deploying $1.8 million in funds to offset the loss of SNAP.
Of that money, 1.5 million, she said, “will be allocated to food banks across the state to fill gaps for SNAP households seeking food,” while the remainder will be used by Food Bucks Now, an emergency fresh food program that provides vouchers for vegetables and produce.
California The state allocated $80 million to food banks across the state, according to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis sent a request last week to the state legislature to approve “$10 million in General Fund revenue to support food banks and pantries, and another to extend previously approved funding for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition access through November.”
Connecticut Three million dollars in emergency funding was given to Connecticut Foodshare, a nonprofit that helps food banks in the state, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont said on Oct. 27.
Delaware Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer declared a state of emergency on Oct. 29 that “ordered that funds be identified and transferred to the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) for the continuation of SNAP payments.”
Payments will be made weekly.
Hawaii On Oct. 29, the state has launched the Hawaiʻi Relief Program which will provide “up to four months of TANF support for housing and utility payments for eligible families who have at least one dependent child in their household and are in financial crisis or have an episode of need.”
Residents who are not SNAP beneficiaries can apply, according to Gov. Josh Green.
The state also donated $2 million to food banks.
Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order on Oct. 30 that allocated $25 million in state funding to food banks.
Iowa The state was ordered by Gov. Kim Reynolds to match up to $1 million in donations to the state’s food banks.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency on Oct. 24 and ordered the state legislature to authorize stabilization funds to help residents in need.
As of Oct 31, the legislature has not given the authorization.
Maine One million dollars from Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’s office will be sent to food banks.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore issued a state of emergency on Oct. 30 and allocated $10 million to food banks
Massachusetts The Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance program, which provides food assistance, received an additional $4 million in state funding, Democratic Gov. Maura Healey announced Thursday.
Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz announced on Oct. 27 that he had allocated $4 million to food banks.
Missouri Five million dollars from the state has been delivered to food banks, Democratic Gov. Mike Kehoe said Oct. 29.
An additional $10.6 million fund transfer was sent to Missouri Area Agencies on Aging for programs to feed seniors.
New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced on Oct. 29 that the state would distribute $30 million in state-funded food benefits onto existing EBT cards for eligible New Mexicans.
New York A state of emergency was declared on Oct. 30 by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The governor announced that the state would provide $40 million in new funding for the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides emergency food relief, and $25 million to Nourish N.Y., which supplies surplus agricultural products to food banks.
North Carolina The state will offer $10 million to state food banks, Democratic Gov. Josh Stein said on Oct. 30. An additional $8 million will be funded by private organizations and charities in partnership with the state, the governor said.
North Dakota Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong announced on Oct. 30 that he allocated $915,000 of state funds to food banks and $600,000 for the state’s (WIC) program.
Ohio Twenty-five million in state funding will be used to offset SNAP losses, GOP Gov. Mike DeWine said after he signed an executive order on Oct. 30.
As part of the order, as much as $18 million in emergency relief benefits will be given to Ohio residents who are at or below 50% of the federal poverty level. Seven million dollars will also be donated to food banks.
Oregon Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek declared a food emergency on Oct. 29 that will be in effect in November and December.
Kotek ordered that “$5 million from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) carryover funds,” be sent to food banks.
“TANF carryover is unspent federal TANF funding from prior years that remains available until used,” the governor’s office said in a news release.
Rhode Island A state of emergency was issued by Democratic Gov. Dan McGee on Oct. 28 and he allocated $6 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to 20,000 eligible families.
He also allocated “$200,000 of Social Services Block Grant funding to enhance capacity at the RI Community Food Bank,” according to the governor’s office.
Virginia GOP Gov. Glen Youngkin issued a state of emergency and launched the Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance (VENA) initiative.
The program will provide residents with state funds weekly to be used in lieu of SNAP through November. A million dollars will also be allocated to food banks.
Washington The state will provide $2.2 million per week to food banks across Washington until SNAP funding is restored, according to Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson.
West Virginia Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced on Oct. 28 that the state would be supporting a food drive and match up to $13 million in donations to food banks.
(NEW YORK) — For the first time in more than two decades, the Pentagon has begun sending conventional ground forces to Panama to train in the jungle there, returning U.S. soldiers and Marines to a three-week course once called the “Green Hell” because of its similarities to Vietnam.
The training program at Base Aeronaval Cristóbal Colón, formerly known as Fort Sherman, is relatively small in scope but is expected to ramp up over the next year, according to one defense official.
The program began earlier this year and is not intended to prepare troops for a potential mission, including inside Venezuela, the official said.
Still, the military’s interest in jungle warfare in Latin America is noteworthy given Trump’s heightened focus there. Since taking office, Trump has vowed to “take back” the Panama Canal and repeatedly threatened to attack Venezuela because of its alleged role in transiting illegal narcotics.
“If you can train and fight in one of the most difficult and challenging locations in the world, you build a really lethal, effective force,” the defense official said of the rationale behind the new training program.
Alex Plitsas, a former Pentagon official and senior fellow at The Atlantic Council, said the new training course wouldn’t likely play a role in potential operations inside Venezuela. The training effort appears to be more about building Panama’s capacity to handle security threats in the region.
But the move signals a shift in priorities by the Trump administration, he said.
“It’s an expansion of an existing military relationship, but it’s not happening in a vacuum,” Plitsas said. “It’s happening as a broader change in policy. There’s a renewed interest in South America, where the president sees the drug flow to the United States as a national security issue with the intention of potential military action.”
Jungle training hasn’t been a priority for the military since 9/11, when the nation’s focus shifted to counterterrorism operations in the Middle East. The Defense Department in recent years has relied on a smaller Army jungle training center in Hawaii and at a Marine Corps site in Okinawa, Japan.
During the Vietnam War, however, Fort Sherman was considered a prime location where most troops could hone their jungle survival skills before shipping off to war.
Conditions at the Panamanian training site are considered among the harshest in the world, including venomous snakes and several layers of thick, towering vegetation that can make it difficult to operate communications and night-vision equipment or evacuate wounded personnel.
By 1999, the training site shuttered and the last of the U.S. military departed Panama as part of an agreement ceding U.S. control of the Panama Canal.
Shortly after taking office, though, Trump expressed renewed interest in the region, declaring the U.S. would be “reclaiming” the Panama Canal. That effort has since been couched by Pentagon officials as a renewed “partnership” with Panama to prevent Chinese influence over the canal, which the U.S. relies on heavily for shipping.
Trump also has overseen an unprecedented buildup of U.S. troops to the region, deploying 10,000 troops and, more recently, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier. The public display of force appears to be a kind of pressure campaign aimed at forcing out Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
By August, the military had set up the “Combined Jungle Operations Training Course” with Marines and Panamanian forces training as part of a pilot program. A military spokesperson said there have since been 46 graduates of the three-week course: 18 Marines, one Army soldier and 27 personnel from Panama’s National Aeronaval Service, National Border Service and National Police.
According to the Defense official, the Army plans to ramp up training over the next year, eventually sending in platoons of some 40 soldiers at a time to train.
Steve Ganyard, a retired Marine Corps colonel and ABC contributor, said the renewed interest in Panama is likely a practical one, but it also can be used to send a message.
“From a practical perspective, it’s easier to get to Panama than Okinawa. And the jungles of Central and South America have their own unique challenges,” he said. “That said, no doubt a message is being sent to Maduro by conducting combat training in his neighborhood.”
