US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks astir the sending of informing letters to companies for illegally selling products containing 7-hydroxymitragynine, besides known arsenic 7-OH, arsenic portion of their actions combatting opioids, during a property league astatine HHS office successful Washington, DC, connected July 29, 2025.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images
A radical of Democratic authorities governors has launched a caller confederation aimed astatine coordinating their nationalist wellness efforts.
They're framing it arsenic a mode to stock data, messages astir threats, exigency preparedness and nationalist wellness argumentation — and arsenic a rebuke to President Donald Trump's administration, which they accidental isn't doing its occupation successful nationalist health.
"At a clip erstwhile the national authorities is telling the states, 'you're connected your own,' governors are banding together," Maryland Governor Wes Moore said successful a statement.
The enactment of the radical touches disconnected a caller section successful a partisan conflict implicit nationalist wellness measures that has been heightened by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s advisers declining to urge COVID-19 vaccinations, alternatively leaving the prime to the individual.
Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said successful an email that Democratic governors who imposed schoolhouse closures and disguise mandates, including for toddlers, astatine the tallness of the pandemic, are the ones who "destroyed nationalist spot successful nationalist health."
"The Trump Administration and Secretary Kennedy are rebuilding that spot by grounding each argumentation successful rigorous grounds and Gold Standard Science – not the failed authorities of the pandemic," Nixon said.
The archetypal members are each Democrats
The Governors Public Health Alliance bills itself arsenic a "nonpartisan coordinating hub," but the archetypal members are each Democrats — the governors of 15 states positive Guam.
Among them are governors of the astir populous bluish states, California and New York, and respective governors who are considered imaginable 2028 statesmanlike candidates, including California's Gavin Newsom, Illinois' JB Pritzker and Maryland's Moore.
The thought of banding unneurotic for nationalist wellness isn't caller for Democratic governors. They formed determination groups to code the pandemic during Trump's archetypal word and launched caller ones successful caller months amid uncertainty connected national vaccine policy. States person besides taken steps to preserve entree to COVID-19 vaccines.
The caller confederation isn't intended to supplant those efforts, oregon the coordination already done by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, its organizers say.
A erstwhile CDC manager is among the advisers
Dr. Mandy Cohen, who was CDC manager nether erstwhile President Joe Biden and earlier that the caput of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, is portion of a bipartisan radical of advisers to the alliance.
"The CDC did supply an important backstop for expertise and support," she said. "And I deliberation present with immoderate of that gone, it's important for states to marque definite that they are sharing champion practices, and that they are coordinating, due to the fact that the problems person not gone away. The wellness threats person not gone away."
Other efforts person besides sprung up to effort to fill roles that the CDC performed earlier the ouster of a director, on with different restructuring and downsizing.
The Governors Public Health Alliance has enactment from GovAct, a nonprofit, nonpartisan donor-funded inaugural that besides has projects aimed astatine protecting ideology and different partisan hot-button issue, reproductive freedom.
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