Rachana Pradhan

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rpradhan@kff.org
@rachanadpradhan

Listen: Some Scientists Speak Out on Deep Cuts to National Cancer Institute, While Others Flee

The U.S. has made enormous progress reducing cancer mortality since the 1990s, partly due to significant investment in research at the National Cancer Institute. But scientists say the Trump administration has been hollowing out the agency in its push to dramatically shrink the federal government.

‘We Dissent’: NIH Workers Protest Trump Policies That ‘Harm the Health of Americans’

A letter signed by more than 300 National Institutes of Health workers — some still working, others who were fired this year — is an extraordinary public rebuke of actions taken under Director Jay Bhattacharya and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Sen. Ron Wyden Seeks Answers on RFK Jr.’s Purge of FOIA Staff

“Citizen oversight is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy,” Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., demanding answers to more than two dozen questions, including who was involved in decisions to fire staff who handled Freedom of Information Act requests.

Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH Slashed Science Funding Across States That Backed Trump

A KFF Health News analysis underscores how the terminations have spared no part of the country, politically or geographically. Of the organizations that had grants cut in the first month, about 40% are in states President Donald Trump won in November.

RFK Jr.’s Purge of FOIA Staff at FDA Spares People Working on Covid Vaccine Lawsuits

A purge of FDA staff spared some people tasked with responding to a judge’s orders to disclose government records on covid vaccines, according to agency employees. The FOIA litigation was brought by Aaron Siri, an ally of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s who represents anti-vaccine interests.

Firings at Federal Health Agencies Decimate Offices That Release Public Records

The Department of Health and Human Services’ mass firings included people who fulfill Freedom of Information Act requests for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and FDA, which result in the release of records about government handling of infectious diseases, medical products, and safety problems in health facilities.