Episode Details

In the first few days of President Trump’s second term he signed a blitz of executive actions. In today’s episode: a look at some of the actions and memos that take aim at key public health policies including the communications pause for health and science agencies, a pause on NIH study sections, immediate posturing on DEI initiatives, exiting the Paris Agreement and WHO, and more. Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Josh Sharfstein served in a number of political roles in his career including as the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health, the Principal Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as Commissioner of Health for Baltimore City, and as a Congressional health policy advisor.

Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, the largest center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

• Memo: Immediate Pause on Issuing Documents and Public Communications (pdf)—Department of Health & Human Services

• Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing—White House Executive Order

• Putting America First In International Environmental Agreements—White House Executive Order

• Withdrawing the United States From the World Health Organization—White House Executive Order

• Federal health agencies told to halt all external communications—NPR

• Trump administration halts NIH grant-making process—The Hill

• Trump is withdrawing the