DR. OZ PLEDGES TO SELL HEALTH STOCK — Television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz pledged to divest stocks in several major health companies if the Senate confirms him to lead the agency responsible for Medicare and Medicaid, POLITICO’s Robert King reports. The Office of Government Ethics, which facilitates disclosures for nominees to government posts, released Oz’s financial details on Wednesday. President Donald Trump chose Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Oz holds stock in the for-profit hospital chain HCA and insurance giant UnitedHealth Group, the biggest insurer of privately held Medicare Advantage plans. The former surgeon also holds stock in several drug companies and other major companies such as Tesla, Apple, Amazon and Exxon Mobil. Oz promised to resign as an adviser from several companies that could pose a conflict if he’s confirmed. They include the company EKO Health, which is developing a digital stethoscope. It’s unclear how the stock information could impact Oz’s chances of confirmation. He has wide support among Republicans, but many Democrats have said he endorsed suspect medical cures during his tenure on TV. HHS ERASES TRANS, NONBINARY PEOPLE — HHS said Wednesday that federal policy will no longer include language on transgender or nonbinary people. Instead, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told federal agencies and partners and the public that there are only “two sexes, male and female” — and all federal policy will reflect this rhetoric. Why it matters: The HHS guidance is the department’s first step in implementing a wave of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump that limit the rights of transgender individuals. One of them, which instructs agencies to ensure hospitals and other institutions receiving federal money stop offering gender-affirming care for minors, has been blocked by a federal judge. HHS said in a statement that the department will continue to “take steps to implement policies” related to the executive orders. A former Biden administration senior official, Adrian Shanker, called the new campaign “vile” in a statement to Pulse. “Secretary Kennedy is starting his tenure at HHS by attacking trans people, harming their access to health, and promoting unscientific right-wing rhetoric about sex as immutable characteristics, while also doubling down on trans kids in sports,” he said. LGBTQ+ legal groups, including Lambda Legal and the Legal Defense Fund, filed a lawsuit challenging three executive orders in federal court Wednesday. They claim that the orders violate free speech and can restrict the ability of social organizations to offer health services. JUDGE CALLS USAID GUIDANCE ‘A MESS’ — A federal judge who this month blocked efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development criticized confusing guidance to overseas employees by the Trump appointee leading the agency, POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney reports. Background: USAID was the first agency targeted for elimination as part of an effort led by Elon Musk to eliminate staff and pull workers stationed abroad back home. This focus on USAID has stagnated critical U.S. food and medical assistance to the world’s poorest countries, according to USAID employees, a United Nations agency and representatives from nonprofit organizations who have spoken with POLITICO’s Carmen Paun. That’s despite the Trump administration exempting lifesaving aid from its freeze on foreign-aid spending. On Wednesday, two nonprofits that have had their foreign aid grants frozen asked a judge to hold Secretary of State Marco Rubio and another top State Department official in contempt for not following a court order to restart the money flow, Carmen reported. That judge, Biden appointee Amir Ali, has separately ordered USAID to lift a blanket freeze on contracts and grants that was abruptly put in place after Trump’s inauguration last month. It comes as U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols said that Peter Marocco, the Trump appointee leading day-to-day operations at USAID, had created a “mess” by issuing conflicting guidance on whether employees stationed overseas must either return home or risk losing benefits afforded to federal service workers. Nichols’ consternation comes as he considers whether to further extend his legal block on the Trump administration’s plans to abruptly dismantle USAID. He ordered the Justice Department to submit a new declaration by noon today clarifying its position regarding overseas employees. Marocco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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