Trump’s health picks face Senate test

Mar 10, 2025

Presented by the Coalition for Medicare Choices

With Ruth Reader

Driving The Day

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya sits before a Senate committee

This week senators will hold confirmation hearings and vote on several HHS leadership nominees like Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as NIH director. | Ben Curtis/AP

BUILDING OUT HHS’ LEADERSHIP — Two of President Donald Trump’s choices to lead major health agencies will face Senate confirmation this week, while two others will be voted on by key Senate committees.

Why it matters: The nominees will work with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his planned overhaul of the health care system.

On Thursday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will vote on whether to approve Dr. Marty Makary as FDA commissioner and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as NIH director.

Also this week, former House representative Dr. Dave Weldon, nominated as CDC director, and television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz, nominated as CMS administrator, will meet with Senate leaders.

Weldon will appear before the Senate HELP Committee on Thursday, POLITICO’s Sophie Gardner reports.

It will be the first time a CDC director will require Senate confirmation, thanks to a law passed by Congress in 2022.

What to expect: Weldon, a Florida House rep from 1995 to 2011, will likely be pressed by Democrats and some Republicans on his past statements linking vaccines and autism. During his time in Congress, he repeatedly questioned the safety of vaccines and introduced a bill to shift vaccine safety oversight from the CDC to an independent agency within HHS.

Oz will appear before the Senate Finance Committee on Friday, POLITICO’s Robert King reports.

If confirmed, Oz would manage Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare’s insurance exchanges.

What to expect: Key Republicans, including HELP Chair Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, support Oz.

But it remains unclear whether he would garner any Democratic support.

Oz will likely face questions from skeptical Democrats about how he would oversee the Medicare Advantage program, where older Americans can join a privately run plan. The program has surged in popularity with more than 31 million participants, more than half of total Medicare enrollment.

Democrats — and some Republicans — are concerned about overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans, the high rate of care denials and deceptive marketing.

Another possible area of questioning is the Department of Government Efficiency initiative run by billionaire Elon Musk. The panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Sen. Angus King (I–Maine) recently asked CMS’ acting director whether more agency firings are expected.

CMS fired more than 80 people in its insurance oversight division and a handful of people in its innovation center, although some innovation workers were rehired.

WELCOME TO MONDAY PULSE. In case you missed it, our colleagues on the Congress team got lawmakers to dish on what Congress is really like, and you’re going to want to read it. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to ccirruzzo@politico.com and khooper@politico.com and follow along @ChelseaCirruzzo and @Kelhoops.

A message from the Coalition for Medicare Choices:

Protect Medicare Advantage: 34 million seniors are counting on it. Over half of America's seniors choose Medicare Advantage because it provides them better care at lower costs than fee-for-service Medicare. With their coverage and care on the line, seniors are watching closely to see whether policymakers keep the bipartisan promise to protect Medicare Advantage by ensuring this vital part of Medicare is adequately funded. Learn more at https://medicarechoices.org/

HHS Update

Former federal workers protest in front of HHS building

Former federal workers gather outside the HHS building in Washington to protest the Trump administration's dismissal of agency staff. | Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

FIRST IN PULSE: AI WOES AT HHS — Ruth reported in February that HHS’ newly hired tech officers’ futures were in limbo as the Trump administration moved to reshape the government. Those officers included chief AI officer Meghan Dierks, chief technology officer Alicia Rouault and chief data officer Kristen Honey, who were hired in January as part of an AI and technology-focused reorganization at the department. POLITICO’s Daniel Lippman has learned that Rouault was removed the same month she was hired, according to a person familiar with the matter.

ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO CULL STAFF — HHS employees who accept early retirement by the close of business Friday could receive buyouts of up to $25,000, according to an email sent to most HHS employees on Friday afternoon and viewed by POLITICO.

The email, first reported by the Associated Press, is the latest attempt by federal officials to shrink the federal workforce, including across HHS. Hundreds of probationary employees from agencies including the CDC, the NIH and the FDA have already been dismissed.

According to the email sent Friday, a “broad population of HHS employees” are invited to take the offer. This is in addition to another early retirement offer for some employees who have been with the department for a certain number of years.

HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In Congress

GOP UNVEILS NEW PLAN — House Republicans have a new stopgap funding plan to avert a government shutdown before Friday night, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill and Jennifer Scholtes report.

The seven-month funding patch would add billions of dollars in spending for deportations, veterans’ health care and the military while cutting an even greater amount of funding for nondefense programs.

Why it matters: Congress must pass a spending bill to avoid a shutdown by midnight Friday, but House Democratic leaders firmly oppose the package that reflects President Donald Trump’s top policy priorities.

Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have been more cautious. If House Speaker Mike Johnson can advance the bill through the House, at least seven Democrats must support it to avert a shutdown. The Republican-friendly provisions embedded in the newly released bill could fuel Democratic opposition.

What’s next? The speaker aims to pass the bill as soon as Tuesday with Republican votes only and then jam the Senate by adjourning the House and putting the onus on Democrats across the Capitol to back a plan they loathe. Referring to the Senate minority leader, Johnson argued on Friday that any lapse in government funding would be “a Chuck Schumer shutdown” if Democrats don’t help Republicans clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

DOCS SNUBBED — The spending package doesn’t contain an expected bipartisan provision that would reverse cuts to doctors’ pay in Medicare, a significant blow to doctors’ groups.

Many House GOP doctors argue the reductions are based on a formula that doesn’t account for rising costs of care, POLITICO’s Ben Leonard, Robert King and Daniel Payne report.

Two lobbyists granted anonymity to share details of private negotiations said the patch for doctors wasn’t included amid broader concerns among Republican leaders that adding more than standard program extensions would open the door to more demands to attach other policies.

The doctors' pay fix would have prevented further cuts that would deeply slash salaries for doctors providing Medicare services based on an outdated formula.

Members of both parties warn the stakes are high for not addressing the issue quickly: Decades of payment reductions in Medicare have put physician practices in financial straits, doctors’ groups say, which could force them to close their practices and reduce access to care.

Even so, the stopgap funding bill would — as expected — include an extension of eased telehealth rules until September, avoiding a potential disruption in access to care if adopted.

On Friday, House Democrats, led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) trashed Speaker Mike Johnson’s intent to pass a bill next week to keep federal agencies running on autopilot budgets through September in a letter to members, Jennifer and Meredith report with POLITICO’s Nicholas Wu.

“Medicaid is our redline,” the letter said. The Democratic leaders didn’t elaborate, however, on whether they would demand future Medicaid protections as an ultimatum in the fight over government funding.

A message from the Coalition for Medicare Choices:

AROUND THE AGENCIES

RFK JR. MEETS WITH FOOD CEOS — HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will sit down today with leaders of several major food brands, including those at General Mills and PepsiCo, according to four people familiar with the matter granted anonymity to speak freely, POLITICO’s Marcia Brown and Adam Cancryn report.

That list could still change, those people warn.

Why it matters: This is the first time Kennedy will meet with the companies he’s publicly accused of harming Americans’ health.

Kennedy agreed to meet with the food executives at the suggestion of the White House, which has encouraged Cabinet officials to meet with top representatives of industries they oversee, according to one of the people.

The meeting represents an early, high-stakes moment for an industry that has long been a top target of Kennedy and his “Make America Healthy Again” movement. He has blamed major food conglomerates for exacerbating chronic illnesses in children and vowed to drastically overhaul the government’s approach to food dyes and other chemicals.

“Something is poisoning the American people, and we know that the primary culprits are changing food supply, a switch to highly chemical-intensive processed foods, ”Kennedy said during a Senate confirmation hearing in January.

HHS did not respond to a request for comment.

Major packaged-food companies and other food industry players have expressed alarm about MAHA agenda items such as eliminating seed oils and banning certain food additives. Other issues that could come up in the meeting include ultraprocessed foods and the FDA’s plans for front-of-pack nutrition labels.

General Mills and PepsiCo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

WHAT WE'RE READING

KFF Health News reports on counties that don’t have a high-speed internet connection also lack health providers.

The Washington Post reports on how Medicaid cuts could impact rural health.

Reuters reports that the CDC plans to investigate the debunked link between vaccines and autism.

A message from the Coalition for Medicare Choices:

Medicare Advantage helps seniors prevent and manage chronic disease. Medicare Advantage outperforms fee-for-service Medicare in preventive care and supporting seniors living with chronic disease. Seniors in Medicare Advantage experience fewer readmissions, fewer preventable hospitalizations, lower rates of high-risk medications and better outcomes. Learn more at https://medicarechoices.org/