Thursday, August 28 | By Liz Crisp |
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It's Thursday. The last long weekend of the summer is on the horizon. 🌅 Programming note: The Hill's 12:30 Report will be off tomorrow and return Tuesday, with Cate Martel back at the helm. 👋 |
- CDC rocked by leadership shakeup
- New details on Minneapolis shooter
- GOP lawmakers pivot to crime bill.
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CDC upheaval draws backlash, scrutiny:
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It's been a tumultuous week at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this morning signaled a push to revisit the "priorities" of the federal disease prevention agency after the White House said it had removed Susan Monarez as director, just weeks into her tenure. "The agency is in trouble, and we need to fix it — and we are fixing it," Kennedy said in an interview Thursday morning on Fox News. "It may be that some people should not be working there anymore." Monarez hired two top D.C. lawyers while resisting her ouster Wednesday. The move to fire her has prompted a raft of exits at the agency, with several senior officials criticizing the administration's moves in resignation letters. The White House on Wednesday night announced it authorized Monarez's firing after she pushed back on the HHS announcement that she had been removed. Multiple media outlets reported that the CDC chief clashed with Kennedy earlier in the week amid a showdown over vaccine policy. The New York Times reported that Kennedy, who was in Texas amid Wednesday's fallout, told Monarez on Monday that she could resign or would be fired. White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement Wednesday night that Monarez "is not aligned with the President's agenda of Making America Healthy Again." "Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC," he said. One of Monarez's attorneys, Mark Zaid, asserted the embattled CDC chief was targeted because she "refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda." Senate Health Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician who cast a pivotal vote to confirm Kennedy, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the committee's ranking member, have each called for a congressional review. |
The CDC upheaval has further fueled backlash to Kennedy's leadership of the federal health care system, following his tenuous confirmation earlier this year. Former Biden administration HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra defended the CDC leaders who resigned and called out Trump administration officials who he said put "politics over public health." "Politicians don't do science well," he said in a social media post. "People will die." Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused the Trump administration of turning health care into a "political pawn." "The past 24 hours of disturbing developments at the CDC from RFK Jr.'s quackery are a direct threat to our nation's health security," she wrote in a social media post. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) said the ordeal is "yet more evidence that putting a quack like Bobby Kennedy in charge of public health was a grave error." The CDC headquarters is located in Atlanta. "The Trump Administration has been engaged for months in a campaign to destroy the CDC, America's preeminent disease-fighting agency," Ossoff said. "The Administration's extremism and incompetence are putting lives at risk." |
Four senior CDC officials announced their resignations on Wednesday amid the push to remove Monarez, citing the weaponization of public health agencies under Kennedy. "For the good of the nation and the world, the science at CDC should never be censored or subject to political pauses or interpretations. Vaccines save lives — this is an indisputable, well-established, scientific fact," CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry wrote in her resignation letter. Demetre C. Daskalakis, who was serving as director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, echoed that view in an email announcing his resignation. "I am not able to serve in this role any longer because of the ongoing weaponizing of public health," Daskalakis wrote. Catch up quick: The Hill's Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech and Joseph Choi have distilled the major takeaways from the CDC fallout. |
➤ THE WALL STREET JOURNAL SOUNDS ALARMS: |
The Wall Street Journal's editorial board Thursday highlighted a separate HHS issue happening within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Excerpt: "The Food and Drug Administration can sometimes resemble Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and last week showed both faces. While the agency agreed to reconsider its recent rejection of a drug for one debilitating rare disease, it scuttled a medicine for another based on strange reasoning." Read the WSJ editorial: 'The Two Faces of the FDA: The agency is back to its old rote review of experimental drugs for rare diseases.' |
Details continue to emerge about the deadly shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis this week, as hundreds of mourners gathered at a tearful vigil in a nearby school's gymnasium Wednesday night. Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed and more than a dozen others injured when a shooter opened fire on students during Mass at Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday. Authorities have said the suspected shooter, 23-year-old Robin Westman, barricaded the church door during the shooting and filmed a manifesto that was set to go live on YouTube around the time of the attack. The FBI is investigating the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics. |
The president ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the White House and other federal properties until sunset Sunday to honor the victims of the shooting. First lady Melania Trump called for "pre-emptive intervention in identifying potential school shooters" in the wake of the tragedy. "To prevent future tragedies, it is crucial we look into behavioral threat assessments across all levels of society—beginning in our homes, extending through school districts and of course, social media platforms," she wrote in a post on X. "Being aware of these warning signs and acting quickly can save lives and make American communities safer." |
➤ HEARTBREAKING STORIES EMERGE: |
The father of one child who survived the shooting Wednesday told NewsNation's Chris Cuomo that his daughter is struggling in the aftermath. "She's in a state of complete fear right now, traumatized. And we just don't know right now. We're going to take this one day at a time … everybody's trying to cope the way we can," Vincent Francoual said. |
Vice President Vance, meanwhile, pushed back on those who seemingly chided the expression of "thoughts and prayers" — a common message of support after mass shootings — without action. "It is shocking to me that so many left wing politicians attack the idea of prayer in response to a tragedy," Vance wrote in a Thursday morning post on X. "Literally no one thinks prayer is a substitute for action." "We pray because our hearts are broken and we believe that God is listening," he added. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) in the first news conference following the shooting called out the notion of "thoughts and prayers," drawing some pushback online. "Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now," he said. "These kids were literally praying." He stood by those remarks in a Thursday interview with ABC News's "Good Morning America." "This was a horrific tragedy in Minneapolis, and then again how many times have you heard politicians talk about an unspeakable tragedy, and yet this kind of thing happens again and again," he said. "Prayers, thoughts, they are certainly welcomed, but they are not enough." "Right now, we have a city that is united in grief, and we have a city that is going to be united in action," he added. Notably: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), who went head-to-head with Vance in the 2024 race to become vice president, called for prayers, as did Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin. |
Redistricting wars evolve: |
Louisiana asked the Supreme Court to stop states from factoring race into their congressional maps — a move that could end decades of redistricting efforts focused on ensured majority-minority. The state, in a court briefing this week that runs contrary to its position on its current congressional maps, argued that race-based districts are "fundamentally contrary to our Constitution" and urged the justices to nullify Louisiana's intentional creation of a second majority-Black district. The long-standing guarantee of majority-minority districts, which was a result of the Voting Rights Act, has allowed Democrats to maintain seats in conservative states like Louisiana. "Louisiana wants out of this abhorrent system of racial discrimination," Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) wrote. The move comes amid a string of efforts from Republicans and Democrats to draw more partisan maps in states across the country. |
Lisa Cook sues Trump over firing: |
Federal Reserve board of governors member Lisa Cook has filed a lawsuit over President Trump's "unprecedented and illegal attempt" to remove her from her position. She asked the court to block her removal and "safeguard" the Fed's congressionally mandated independence. More from The Hill on the Fed fight here. |
GOP races to meet Trump's demand for crime bill: |
House Republicans are expected to take the lead as lawmakers scramble to address President Trump's call this week for a "comprehensive crime bill" amid his law enforcement takeover in Washington, D.C., and threats to extend federal intervention elsewhere. Details are murky: The Hill's Alexander Bolton and Emily Brooks detailed how Trump scrambled the GOP-controlled Congress's priority list as he shifted the summer's focus to crime, which wasn't on the agenda when lawmakers left the Capitol for August recess. "Republicans view forcing votes in the House and Senate on major crime bills as a political winner that will put Democrats from swing states and districts 'in a box,'" they note, adding that one GOP aide described the talks as being in the "infancy" stage. |
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing on D.C. crime Sept. 18 with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D) and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb (D). Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is expected to take the lead on drafting the bill to meet Trump's objective, working with the Department of Justice and House and Senate stakeholders. |
Confirmation fight simmers ahead of Senate's return: |
Senate Republicans are gearing up for a battle when they return from August recess, as they aim to expedite the confirmations of hundreds of lower-level Trump nominees that Democrats have delayed. The president and his GOP allies have blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for the holdup that is prompting them to consider a rare rule change to sidestep the blockade. "We all agree that we've got to break the logjam that [Schumer] has created by him filibustering every single nominee except [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio," Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) told The Hill this week. "He went nuclear, and it's forced us to have to make a rule change." "It shouldn't have to be this way, but he chose to do it this way," he added. |
Axios: Republican support for unions plunged this year. The Wall Street Journal: After Cracker Barrel Uproar, Activist Investor Seizes the Moment. |
The Hill: The U.S. Air Force will provide Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt with military funeral honors, reversing a Biden-era decision that denied her family's request. The Hill: Trump has proposed having a GOP convention before the 2026 midterms, mirroring an idea Democrats had reportedly been mulling for their own party. |
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The House and Senate are out. President Trump is in Washington, and Vice President Vance is in Wisconsin to tout the administration's agenda. (All times EST) |
1 p.m.: White House press briefing. 💻Livestream
3:30 pm.: President Trump signs executive orders.
4 p.m.: The AFL-CIO holds a rally in Washington's Dupont Circle.
6:30 p.m.: Federal Reserve board of governors member Christopher Waller speaks at the Economic Club of Miami. 💻Livestream |
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🎀 Suit up: It's National Bow Tie Day! Ⓜ️ Metro makeover coming soon…: The District's Metro rail fleet is getting a new look. Thoughts? 📸 Aww: The National Zoo shared the first photos of its red panda baby on social media this week. 🎾 The U.S. Open has gone to the dogs – in the best way! 🖼️ The experts have weighed in on the new "ostentatious and anachronistic" changes in the Oval Office and what could be ahead for White House decor. Correction: Yesterday's issue misstated Trump's age. The president turned 79 in June. |
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