Summary
Yesterday marked the end of the first 100 days of the second Trump Administration. President Trump has sought to remake America at breakneck speed over the first 100 days of his second term, issuing more than 140 executive orders (EOs) since returning to office, dismantling government agencies, and testing the limits of his power. Elevating government critics like Elon Musk and science skeptics like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to key positions within the administration has created widespread disruption within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and rocked the health policy community as the two have worked to cut a quarter of the department’s workforce, reorganize or remove entire agencies, and reduce contract spending by 35% (Impact summary). Many of these actions have faced legal challenges which are still playing out in court.
Also pivotal to these efforts is Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought, who orchestrated the administration’s funding freeze (Impact summary) and is now leading an aggressive campaign to deregulate the federal government. With Vought’s help, Trump has committed to rescinding at least 10 rules for every new regulation issued, a significant escalation from the first Trump administration’s two-for-one policy. In alignment with the EO, the OMB and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have issued requests for information (RFI) seeking input about which federal regulations to eliminate or revise. President Trump also directed departments to repeal “unlawful” regulations without notice-and-comment rulemaking.
The Trump administration intends to focus what remains of the federal bureaucracy on executing priorities consistent with RFK Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, such as policies to improve nutrition and wellness and reduce chronic disease. Other priorities include pivoting away from health equity, increasing transparency, and reducing fraud, waste, and abuse, though many of these aims will likely be harder to achieve with less resources and some seem at odds with how HHS has been operating under Secretary Kennedy so far.
Despite the upheaval, and a number of challenging positions Trump has staked out on issues such as tariffs, congressional Republicans have continued to support the President and his agenda. This solidarity has further emboldened Trump over the first 100 days, but Republicans may begin to pushback if his approval ratings (and the economy) continue to decline.
Click here to read more about the congressional landscape, the administration’s actions and potential next steps, as well as key appointments.