Jeannie Baumann
@jeannieb.bsky.social
Newsletter editor for Bloomberg Government/ recovering health care journalist by day. Filmi and fitness fanatic all the time.
Reposted by Jeannie Baumann
KELLY: Does HHS's vaccine webpage reflects the department's view on covid vaccines?
RFK JR: I haven't seen the website
KELLY: It's kind of troubling that you're unaware of what your own department's website states. It says they're safe and effective.
RFK JR: I haven't seen the website
KELLY: It's kind of troubling that you're unaware of what your own department's website states. It says they're safe and effective.
June 24, 2025 at 3:32 PM
KELLY: Does HHS's vaccine webpage reflects the department's view on covid vaccines?
RFK JR: I haven't seen the website
KELLY: It's kind of troubling that you're unaware of what your own department's website states. It says they're safe and effective.
RFK JR: I haven't seen the website
KELLY: It's kind of troubling that you're unaware of what your own department's website states. It says they're safe and effective.
RARE DISEASES folks: medicaid work requirements were obviously the big news from last night release of the E&C reconciliation bill.
But there’s also a pretty big win for rare disease drug makers and groups like @nordrare.bsky.social
But there’s also a pretty big win for rare disease drug makers and groups like @nordrare.bsky.social
May 12, 2025 at 3:21 PM
RARE DISEASES folks: medicaid work requirements were obviously the big news from last night release of the E&C reconciliation bill.
But there’s also a pretty big win for rare disease drug makers and groups like @nordrare.bsky.social
But there’s also a pretty big win for rare disease drug makers and groups like @nordrare.bsky.social
Reposted by Jeannie Baumann
DOGE head Amy Gleason denied responsibility for mass federal worker firings in a private group chat message obtained by the Chronicle. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...
DOGE head denies responsibility for mass firings in private group chat message
The April 2 message was sent in a nearly 300-person group chat of health care innovators.
www.sfchronicle.com
April 9, 2025 at 4:16 PM
DOGE head Amy Gleason denied responsibility for mass federal worker firings in a private group chat message obtained by the Chronicle. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...
Reposted by Jeannie Baumann
Noticeably silent amid the upheaval at HHS? Big pharma. Every new drug has NIH somewhere in its DNA--and NIH funding supports the training of their workforce. Now they're finding out FDA isn't safe, either. Wrote about how keeping quiet isn't working My latest @opinion.bloomberg.com (gift link):
Big Pharma Needs to Get Off the Sidelines
The industry can’t continue to sit idly by while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. guts the nation’s public health agencies.
www.bloomberg.com
April 1, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Noticeably silent amid the upheaval at HHS? Big pharma. Every new drug has NIH somewhere in its DNA--and NIH funding supports the training of their workforce. Now they're finding out FDA isn't safe, either. Wrote about how keeping quiet isn't working My latest @opinion.bloomberg.com (gift link):
Had a peaceful, gorgeous morning viewing the cherry blossoms over sunrise
…then I checked my work inbox …
…then I checked my work inbox …
March 27, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Had a peaceful, gorgeous morning viewing the cherry blossoms over sunrise
…then I checked my work inbox …
…then I checked my work inbox …
The mixed response from congressional Republicans to the Trump administration’s cuts for NIH F&A costs could signal reductions for the National Institutes of Health down the line when lawmakers draft spending bills, Nancy Vu reports for @bgov.com
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
Health Research Funds at Risk as GOP Divided on Trump's Cut Plan
The White House’s move to slash NIH grant funding is drawing mixed responses from Republican appropriators, signaling the possibility for more cuts from lawmakers to the agency’s medical research budg...
news.bgov.com
February 12, 2025 at 1:31 PM
The mixed response from congressional Republicans to the Trump administration’s cuts for NIH F&A costs could signal reductions for the National Institutes of Health down the line when lawmakers draft spending bills, Nancy Vu reports for @bgov.com
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
Reposted by Jeannie Baumann
Scoop: Trump DOJ removes head of Tax Division, a 40-year veteran who is latest civil servant reassigned to the sanctuary cities office. He's resigned, prompting alarm over how Trump may deploy tax enforcement against enemies. w/ Erin Slowey, David Voreacos news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Trump DOJ Forces Out Top Tax Enforcer in Civil Service Purge (1)
The Justice Department’s chief tax official is resigning rather than accept a forced transfer to a new unit, raising fresh concerns about the Trump administration’s aggressive drive to reshape the age...
news.bloomberglaw.com
February 11, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Scoop: Trump DOJ removes head of Tax Division, a 40-year veteran who is latest civil servant reassigned to the sanctuary cities office. He's resigned, prompting alarm over how Trump may deploy tax enforcement against enemies. w/ Erin Slowey, David Voreacos news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Reposted by Jeannie Baumann
📣 Since the response to my archive index of the CDC & FDA websites has been so positive, I'm tackling a much larger site: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The CMS site is 10x larger than either the CDC or FDA sites, so this may take awhile...
acasignups.net/25/02/07/lin...
The CMS site is 10x larger than either the CDC or FDA sites, so this may take awhile...
acasignups.net/25/02/07/lin...
Links to archived versions of every CMS.gov page available pre-purge
Since my Internet Archive indexes of both CDC.gov and FDA.gov seem to have gotten a lot of positive responses, I'm following up by tackling a much larger federal healthcare department website: The Cen...
acasignups.net
February 7, 2025 at 11:07 PM
📣 Since the response to my archive index of the CDC & FDA websites has been so positive, I'm tackling a much larger site: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The CMS site is 10x larger than either the CDC or FDA sites, so this may take awhile...
acasignups.net/25/02/07/lin...
The CMS site is 10x larger than either the CDC or FDA sites, so this may take awhile...
acasignups.net/25/02/07/lin...
Reposted by Jeannie Baumann
Scoop: DOJ tells all US attorneys to justify retaining any probationary employee who isn't working on immigration, national security or public safety cases. They have until Monday to explain why these recent hires should be allowed to keep their jobs. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
US Attorneys Said to Be Told to Justify Keeping Newest Prosecutors
Justice Department headquarters has given all 93 US attorneys two business days to explain why prosecutors they’ve hired in the past two years who aren’t focused on Trump priorities such as immigratio...
news.bloomberglaw.com
February 8, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Scoop: DOJ tells all US attorneys to justify retaining any probationary employee who isn't working on immigration, national security or public safety cases. They have until Monday to explain why these recent hires should be allowed to keep their jobs. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
On the issue of NIH cutting indirect costs down to 15% (which has averaged 27% to 28% over time, according to their grants statement).
What does this portend for the Trump 2.0's first budget proposal?
some context 👇
What does this portend for the Trump 2.0's first budget proposal?
some context 👇
February 8, 2025 at 3:24 AM
On the issue of NIH cutting indirect costs down to 15% (which has averaged 27% to 28% over time, according to their grants statement).
What does this portend for the Trump 2.0's first budget proposal?
some context 👇
What does this portend for the Trump 2.0's first budget proposal?
some context 👇
More from @bgov.com’s Nancy Vu on RFK jr’s nomination moving to the Senate floor
No floor vote scheduled, but Thune has generally been moving to confirm Trump’s cabinet picks swiftly (he laid out a pathway for it last month)
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
No floor vote scheduled, but Thune has generally been moving to confirm Trump’s cabinet picks swiftly (he laid out a pathway for it last month)
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
RFK Jr. Health Secretary Nomination Moves Forward in Senate
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Health and Human Services Department advanced out of the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday, bringing the pick one step closer to a floor vote.
news.bgov.com
February 4, 2025 at 3:53 PM
More from @bgov.com’s Nancy Vu on RFK jr’s nomination moving to the Senate floor
No floor vote scheduled, but Thune has generally been moving to confirm Trump’s cabinet picks swiftly (he laid out a pathway for it last month)
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
No floor vote scheduled, but Thune has generally been moving to confirm Trump’s cabinet picks swiftly (he laid out a pathway for it last month)
news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
Several senators made statements after the vote. Cassidy was not one of them. However, he does have a statement on X.
February 4, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Several senators made statements after the vote. Cassidy was not one of them. However, he does have a statement on X.
Reposted by Jeannie Baumann
So what commitments did Cassidy get from the White House and why does he have any confidence they will follow through on them?
February 4, 2025 at 3:31 PM
So what commitments did Cassidy get from the White House and why does he have any confidence they will follow through on them?
Reposted by Jeannie Baumann
Yes. I 've mentioned it before and it is so important. The government is filling in a key market failure and we still have huge gaps and needs to new antibiotics to address resistance etc.
The point is, it’s not the big money maker for drug companied that RFK jr implied it was, and if it weren’t for NIH, a lot of these infectious disease has probably wouldn’t be studied at all.
January 31, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Yes. I 've mentioned it before and it is so important. The government is filling in a key market failure and we still have huge gaps and needs to new antibiotics to address resistance etc.
Following up on RFK’s confirmation hearing comments in which he repeatedly said to senators that NIH spends so much money on infectious disease at the expense chronic disease.
He told Sen. Collins yesterday (who is also chair of Appprops so obviously she knows how spending works)
He told Sen. Collins yesterday (who is also chair of Appprops so obviously she knows how spending works)
January 31, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Following up on RFK’s confirmation hearing comments in which he repeatedly said to senators that NIH spends so much money on infectious disease at the expense chronic disease.
He told Sen. Collins yesterday (who is also chair of Appprops so obviously she knows how spending works)
He told Sen. Collins yesterday (who is also chair of Appprops so obviously she knows how spending works)
RFK jr said he wants to spend about 20% of NIH’s budget on replication.
Reproducibility is a well known challenge in research and NIH for sure but…that’s more than $9 billion a year on reproducibility, more than any one IC gets
NCI gets about $7.2billion annually
Reproducibility is a well known challenge in research and NIH for sure but…that’s more than $9 billion a year on reproducibility, more than any one IC gets
NCI gets about $7.2billion annually
January 29, 2025 at 6:15 PM
RFK jr said he wants to spend about 20% of NIH’s budget on replication.
Reproducibility is a well known challenge in research and NIH for sure but…that’s more than $9 billion a year on reproducibility, more than any one IC gets
NCI gets about $7.2billion annually
Reproducibility is a well known challenge in research and NIH for sure but…that’s more than $9 billion a year on reproducibility, more than any one IC gets
NCI gets about $7.2billion annually
Whenever NIH makes grant policy changes, they typically issue a notice explaining what’s up and why.
But it looks like the freeze on public statements means they can’t talk about the impact of the federal funding freeze.
Last update I see is Jan 13.
grants.nih.gov/policy-and-c...
But it looks like the freeze on public statements means they can’t talk about the impact of the federal funding freeze.
Last update I see is Jan 13.
grants.nih.gov/policy-and-c...
Notices of NIH Policy Changes | Grants & Funding
grants.nih.gov
January 29, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Whenever NIH makes grant policy changes, they typically issue a notice explaining what’s up and why.
But it looks like the freeze on public statements means they can’t talk about the impact of the federal funding freeze.
Last update I see is Jan 13.
grants.nih.gov/policy-and-c...
But it looks like the freeze on public statements means they can’t talk about the impact of the federal funding freeze.
Last update I see is Jan 13.
grants.nih.gov/policy-and-c...
Happy covering RFK jr nomination hearings day (part one) to anyone who’s participating.
We’ve got Nancy Vu & Ian Lopez on the ground for @bgov.com + Madison Muller for Bloomberg News
(Neither are on Bluesky yet, but friendly reminder that I always love a good news tip!)
We’ve got Nancy Vu & Ian Lopez on the ground for @bgov.com + Madison Muller for Bloomberg News
(Neither are on Bluesky yet, but friendly reminder that I always love a good news tip!)
January 29, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Happy covering RFK jr nomination hearings day (part one) to anyone who’s participating.
We’ve got Nancy Vu & Ian Lopez on the ground for @bgov.com + Madison Muller for Bloomberg News
(Neither are on Bluesky yet, but friendly reminder that I always love a good news tip!)
We’ve got Nancy Vu & Ian Lopez on the ground for @bgov.com + Madison Muller for Bloomberg News
(Neither are on Bluesky yet, but friendly reminder that I always love a good news tip!)
Lisa does a great job breaking down why a freeze on NIH grant reviews (among other things) is a really big deal that could have a domino effect and delaying medical research. 👇👇
Some thoughts on the confusion and anxiety created by the current freeze on communications, hiring, grant reviews, travel, etc at NIH (gift link):
Trump's NIH Freeze Puts Scientific Research at Risk
America’s best scientific minds are scrambling to determine the impact of the disruption.
www.bloomberg.com
January 27, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Lisa does a great job breaking down why a freeze on NIH grant reviews (among other things) is a really big deal that could have a domino effect and delaying medical research. 👇👇
Reposted by Jeannie Baumann
JUST IN: Trump DOJ reassigns 2 civil rights officials to newly-formed sanctuary cities group, per five people familiar. They headed the appellate section, which adopts litigating stances on trans rights, policing, race discrimination, hate crimes. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Trump DOJ Said to Remove Two Top Civil Rights Officials
The Trump Justice Department has reassigned two senior civil rights officials overseeing the government’s litigating positions on transgender rights, police misconduct, affirmative action, and other a...
news.bloomberglaw.com
January 25, 2025 at 8:30 PM
JUST IN: Trump DOJ reassigns 2 civil rights officials to newly-formed sanctuary cities group, per five people familiar. They headed the appellate section, which adopts litigating stances on trans rights, policing, race discrimination, hate crimes. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Do sanctions still count if you misspell the name of the country you’re sanctioning?
…or is Columbia, Mo., (or S.C) in for one heckuva surprise?
(To be fair, POTUS spelled it correctly in his post)
…or is Columbia, Mo., (or S.C) in for one heckuva surprise?
(To be fair, POTUS spelled it correctly in his post)
January 27, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Do sanctions still count if you misspell the name of the country you’re sanctioning?
…or is Columbia, Mo., (or S.C) in for one heckuva surprise?
(To be fair, POTUS spelled it correctly in his post)
…or is Columbia, Mo., (or S.C) in for one heckuva surprise?
(To be fair, POTUS spelled it correctly in his post)
Reposted by Jeannie Baumann
Late-night scoop
DOROTHY FINK set to be interim HHS secretary while RFK Jr awaits confirmation
HOUSTON PARK, retired Palm Beach County fire captain, is Trump’s pick to run health agency that leads emergency response
JOHN KNOX, firefighter who sued over Los Angeles vax mandate, is Park’s deputy
DOROTHY FINK set to be interim HHS secretary while RFK Jr awaits confirmation
HOUSTON PARK, retired Palm Beach County fire captain, is Trump’s pick to run health agency that leads emergency response
JOHN KNOX, firefighter who sued over Los Angeles vax mandate, is Park’s deputy
Trump team taps Dorothy Fink to serve as interim HHS secretary
Houston Park and John Knox, trained firefighters, are also in line for roles helping oversee the nation’s emergency preparedness and response.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 20, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Late-night scoop
DOROTHY FINK set to be interim HHS secretary while RFK Jr awaits confirmation
HOUSTON PARK, retired Palm Beach County fire captain, is Trump’s pick to run health agency that leads emergency response
JOHN KNOX, firefighter who sued over Los Angeles vax mandate, is Park’s deputy
DOROTHY FINK set to be interim HHS secretary while RFK Jr awaits confirmation
HOUSTON PARK, retired Palm Beach County fire captain, is Trump’s pick to run health agency that leads emergency response
JOHN KNOX, firefighter who sued over Los Angeles vax mandate, is Park’s deputy
Reposted by Jeannie Baumann
Donald Trump will be at the zenith of his political power when he takes office, but the clock will also immediately start ticking on his second — and final — term.
What to Know in Washington: Trump is Back But With Little Time
Donald Trump will be at the zenith of his political power when he takes office, but the clock will also immediately start ticking on his second — and final — term.
news.bgov.com
January 20, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Donald Trump will be at the zenith of his political power when he takes office, but the clock will also immediately start ticking on his second — and final — term.
Important issue here that could impact coverage/access to GLP-1s, if it’s considered a treatment for obesity (which has been classified as a disease since 2013 ) vs taking it for vanity reasons
(hello MMA coverage bans)
(hello MMA coverage bans)
The pharma industry has struggled at times to maintain its messaging on obesity: is the goal to be healthy or is the goal to be thin? Much thanks to Manu for expanding on his thoughts in our @endpts.com interview.
endpts.com/roches-cardi...
endpts.com/roches-cardi...
Roche's cardiometabolic chief warns against weight loss 'obsession' with GLP-1s
The rise of GLP-1s have made treating obesity one of the largest market opportunities in history. It also has reinforced a detrimental relationship between physical health and size, according to one p...
endpts.com
January 18, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Important issue here that could impact coverage/access to GLP-1s, if it’s considered a treatment for obesity (which has been classified as a disease since 2013 ) vs taking it for vanity reasons
(hello MMA coverage bans)
(hello MMA coverage bans)
NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli and NCI Director Kimryn Rathmell officially stepped down today as expected.
Bertagnolli was the first woman to run NCI ever, and only the second Senate-confirmed woman to run NIH.
Bertagnolli was the first woman to run NCI ever, and only the second Senate-confirmed woman to run NIH.
January 17, 2025 at 11:49 PM
NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli and NCI Director Kimryn Rathmell officially stepped down today as expected.
Bertagnolli was the first woman to run NCI ever, and only the second Senate-confirmed woman to run NIH.
Bertagnolli was the first woman to run NCI ever, and only the second Senate-confirmed woman to run NIH.