A House Democrat is introducing long-shot legislation that would force billionaire Trump lieutenant Elon Musk and his staffers at DOGE to undergo routine drug testing, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) cited a Wall Street Journal report from 2024 that alleged Musk has used illegal drugs including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, mushrooms and ketamine as the impetus for her bill.
Alabama cannot prosecute doctors and reproductive rights groups that help patients travel out of state for abortions, a federal judge ruled Monday.
Why it matters: Alabama has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, with Monday's ruling upending threats by the state's attorney general to crack down on Alabamans' ability to travel elsewhere for the procedure.
Entire offices throughout the Department of Health and Human Services were laid off Tuesday as the agency implemented DOGE-directed job cuts and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s sweeping reorganization of the federal health bureaucracy.
Newly confirmed National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya told staff that they face challenges amid large-scale cutbacks and that he will try his best to "implement new policies humanely," according to an all-staff email sent this morning and shared with Axios by the agency.
Why it matters: The message comes days after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a sweeping reorganization of the federal health bureaucracy, which includes laying off roughly 1,200 NIH employees.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday is due to hear a high-profile case blending patients' rights with reproductive care access, stemming from South Carolina's move to block Medicaid recipients from getting care at Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.
Why it matters: At issue is whether Medicaid patients can freely choose their provider for any service — not just reproductive care.But the case has major implications for Planned Parenthood, which derives a significant chunk of its funding from the safety net program and is the biggest provider of abortion services in the country.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has touted vitamin A as a measles treatment, but the side effects of a vitamin overdose are dire.
Why it matters: The vitamin can treat some patients who are already infected but should only be administered under doctors' guidance.
The sweeping reorganization of the federal health bureaucracy includes designating a new top cop at the Health and Human Services Department.
Why it matters: The HHS enforcement and appeals offices that, in a nutshell, arbitrate disputes over agency decisions and decide whether providers are following the rules,have historically operated as separate divisions that each answer directly to the secretary.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says sweeping layoffs and restructuring in the department will bring order to a bureaucracy he claims is in "pandemonium." But experts say the overhaul also likely gives him far greater control over dozens of federal health agencies.
Why it matters: HHS has long functioned like a decentralized behemoth, with key decisions on hiring, grant funding, and public health priorities often in the hands of career staff and scientists.
