Analysis: How federal health programs have been upended during Trump administration's first 100 days

Kennedy, the HHS secretary, has stressed that the cuts and overhaul are necessary to refocus the federal government’s public health mission on addressing chronic disease and a lagging life expectancy rate, eliminating redundancy, increasing transparency, and reducing government costs. As part of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, the Trump administration has created a commission that “aims to end the childhood chronic disease epidemic.” The Trump administration has also targeted funding cuts for grants that do not align with its ideological and political priorities. An HHS spokesperson said in an email that the HHS budget draft, known as a “passback,” “is pre-decisional and that no final decisions have been made.”

“For too long, our health agencies have served the interests of powerful corporations rather than the American people,” Kennedy said in a statement marking the administration’s first 100 days. “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are beginning to rip the veil off decades of deceit, restore scientific integrity, and reclaim our birthright: a healthy, thriving nation. This is not just policy — it’s a revolution in public health. And it’s how we Make America Healthy Again.”

But some public health experts say the cuts and proposed changes target programs that have long aimed to prevent sickness, death and injury — undermining the very goals the administration wants to achieve.

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