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Morning Briefing

Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

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Friday, Jul 24 2026 9:05 AM

Full Issue

Cassidy Thinks CDC Director Nominee Can Stand Up To RFK Jr., Voices Approval

“I’m confident that she knows what she is doing and will stand against those who do not,” Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said of Erica Schwartz. With Cassidy’s nod, The New York Times reported, it appears likely that the health committee will approve Schwartz’s nomination, teeing up a vote in the full Senate.

President Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention won the support of a crucial Republican on Thursday after a page on the agency’s website about vaccines and autism was modified to address his objections. (Stolberg, 7/23)

The Senate’s health panel delayed until next week a vote on Erica Schwartz to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after postponing a separate vote on Sean Kaufman for a key public health preparedness role. (Cirruzzo, 7/23)

A Trump administration nominee to lead an agency focused on public health disasters had his confirmation vote postponed amid a lack of support just minutes before it was scheduled to take place, after he was lambasted during a confirmation hearing last week for his past anti-vaccine statements. (Cirruzzo, 7/23)

More from Capitol Hill —

The entire congressional Democratic caucus filed an amicus brief urging a federal appeals court to retain the Food and Drug Administration’s current rules for prescribing abortion pills. (Weixel, 7/23)

Amid debates over whether the political influence of the Make America Healthy Again movement is on the wane, a new bill advanced in the Senate on Wednesday shows that concerns over ultra-processed food continue to upend the usual partisan stances in Washington. (Todd, 7/24)

Rep. Morgan Griffith would love to eat an all-beef hot dog. But the eight-term Virginia Republican from one of the biggest cattle-producing districts in Congress doesn’t eat red meat — against his will. (Cohen, 7/22)

Frustrations are growing as Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been absent from the Senate for 40 days, leading to speculation about his health and the truth of his statement from nearly 2 weeks ago. (Henderson, 7/23)

Dr. Anthony Fauci will testify next Wednesday in front of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee after being subpoenaed, panel Chair Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Thursday. (Weixel, 7/23)

ϳԹ News: Watch: GOP Senator Says Trump’s Tariffs Could Mean Safer Drugs — For A Price 

President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on imported generic drugs could raise some prices for patients, a key GOP lawmaker on health issues said this week. But he said that’s a potentially worthwhile trade-off to protect the nation’s drug supply. (Rovner and Norman, 7/24)

ϳԹ News: 'What The Health? From ϳԹ News': A Shrinking Safety Net 

A new report finds that participation in the federal food stamp program is down far more than was predicted when the Republican-led Congress approved cuts in 2025. That portends a similar fate for Medicaid, as states ready comparable changes. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join ϳԹ News’ Julie Rovner to discuss the news. Also, as part of the “How Would You Fix It?” series, Rovner interviews GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. (7/23)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
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