Liam

(cribbed and paraphrased from a FB post by Richard Ojeda)

I look at my own sons now - grown and busy building their lives - and I have to think about how much has been possible only because they got to grow up safe, protected, and never afraid of the people who were supposed to be there to help.

That’s why the story of a five-year-old boy being detained by ICE, pulled out of a car in his own driveway and held hostage in order to lure his family out of their home, hits me like I've been kicked in the stomach. No parent should ever have to imagine their kids being put in that position, and no child should ever be forced to carry that kind of fear.

I’ve been around for quite a while, I've seen what real threats look like, and a kindergartener with a backpack, wearing a bunny hat, is not one of them.

Using a child to project power or to make a point isn’t law enforcement - it’s cruelty. And it violates everything this country claims to stand for.

When my kids were little, their biggest concerns were all about being on time for the school bus and playing and wondering if they could talk me into fixing their favorite chicken enchiladas for supper - feeling loved.

Liam’s world was shattered in an instant by masked agents who decided terrorizing a child was an acceptable tool for achieving a fucked political goal.

If we allow this to be normalized - if we look away because it’s happening to someone else’s kid - then we’ve already lost something fundamental about who we are.

Terrifying times. pic.twitter.com/iN7Z3US9Xk

— Harry Eccles (@Heccles94) January 24, 2026

Overheard

When the governor says our rights are being violated

and the mayor says our rights are being violated

and the lawyers are saying our rights are being violated

and federal judges are saying our rights are being violated

and the police chiefs are saying our rights are being violated

and the local cops are saying our rights are being violated

but DHS - the assholes who're doing all the violating - insist they aren't ...

maybe our rights are being violated

and maybe our government is nine kinds of fucked up.

Dr Knurick

Funny, with all that cost cutting, Trump has still managed to add another $2.3 trillion to the national debt.

And now, because he's a bumbling fucking loser, he's got our closest allies pissed off to the point where they're starting to dump their holdings in US Treasury Bonds.

But maybe the worst of it is that he's practically disarmed us when it comes to public health.

And ain't that the way. The Daddy State loves it when we're broke, sick, and scared.

Dr Jessica Knurick has a rundown for us.

(yeah, it's long - did I forget to tell you Trump's job is to fuck it all up?)

As of this week, we are officially one year into the Trump 2.0 administration.

Last June, I documented the first several months of this administration’s actions affecting public health, science, and health policy. Since then, the pace and scope of those actions have intensified. While there has been pushback and occasional policy reversals, this administration has repeatedly made decisions that weaken public health capacity, erode scientific norms, and make it harder for people to be healthy and safe.

This list has now been updated to reflect what has occurred over the past year and to serve as an ongoing record of what’s been lost, in order to make those losses visible and harder to erase.

Food Assistance and Nutrition Access

• Cut $186 billion from SNAP (formerly food stamps), as part of the Big Beautiful Bill.
• Defunded SNAP-Ed, reducing nutrition education for low-income families.
• Eliminated USDA’s local food program connecting farmers to schools.
• Eliminated USDA’s Farm-to-Food Bank program that helped food banks source fresh, local food.
• Terminated the Food Security Survey Report that will limit the ability to evaluate food security policies.
• Halted USDA food deliveries to food banks, worsening supply during high demand.
• Created tighter work requirements for SNAP recipients to determine who is eligible for benefits.
• Expanded SNAP Waivers to a total of 18 states limiting what foods SNAP recipients can purchase, further stigmatizing the SNAP program and making it more expensive by increasing administrative and retailer costs.
• Threatened to withhold SNAP funds from democratic-led states.
• Froze SNAP and other USDA payments to Minnesota. This freeze is currently blocked by a federal judge.
• Froze funding for the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program, which supported hands-on nutrition education and local food sourcing in schools, then reinstated it months later with new funding caps and application processes.
• Proposed $1.3B cuts to WIC, slashing fruit and vegetable benefits for at-risk women, infants, and children. Fortunately, Congress fully funded WIC.
• Food Safety and Regulation Rollbacks
• Foreign food safety inspections hit historic lows, which increases risk for foodborne illness outbreaks.
• CDC scaled back a surveillance program, FoodNet, reducing CDC surveillance of eight foodborne pathogens to two.
• USDA withdrew a proposal to reduce salmonella in poultry after years of development.
• Massive staff cuts at the FDA, including food safety scientists and inspectors — an estimated one-third of the food safety workforce has been let go. Some staff were reinstated after the FDA realized their firing was “a mistake.”
• Senators eliminated rules designed to prevent food contamination and foodborne illnesses at farms and restaurants.
• FDA revoked 52 standards of identity, which may create variability in production processes. Companies are not required to change their ingredients or processes, but they are no longer obligated to follow the previous standards and now have the option to do things differently.
• Suspended the Food Emergency Response Network’s proficiency testing program, limiting early detection of foodborne threats.
• Paused milk quality testing during the bird flu outbreak, raising public safety concerns.
• Eliminated USDA food safety advisory committees, silencing key scientific voices on foodborne risks.
• CDC Food Safety Lead resigned after RFK Jr. attempted to fire the former CDC director, citing the agency’s departure from evidence-based science.
• Jim Jones, former EPA official and head of FDA’s Human Foods Program, resigned in protest, stating he could no longer protect the food supply under the current conditions.
• FDA budget cuts paired with plans to shift food inspections to state agencies, weakening oversight and consistency.
• Cut food toxicologist staff at FDA responsible for evaluating chemical risks in the food supply.
• Proposed permanent increases in meat processing line speeds, ignoring warnings from labor and food safety experts.
• Continued deregulatory mandates requiring agencies to eliminate ten existing regulations for every one introduced, undermining long-term food safety infrastructure.
• Scientific Research and Public Health Infrastructure

Overall, over 7,800 research grants were cut and about 25,000 research personnel were fired.
RFK Jr. announced that HHS was terminating 22 Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority contracts, effectively ending $500 million in federal funding for mRNA vaccine development.

The Trump administration’s failure to appoint members to NIH advisory councils is about to paralyze the federal grant system, potentially freezing new research funding across more than half of the NIH and halting billions of dollars in biomedical science.

The Department of Education announced new “professional degree” definitions that determine which graduate programs qualify for higher federal student-loan limits under the Big Beautiful Bill.

• Slashed $500 million in gun violence prevention funding that showed evidence of reducing gun deaths.
• Froze new NIH grants and terminated 694 existing awards totaling $1.81 billion, disrupting research on cancer, HIV, ALS, and other critical health issues. As of January 2026, these cuts are tied up in a federal appeals court.
• Removed 8,000+ public-facing federal health and science webpages, including datasets on youth risk behavior, reproductive health, and environmental hazards.
• Eliminated the CDC Division of Oral Health, ending federal support for preventing tooth decay and promoting dental health in underserved communities.
• Eliminated the federal Newborn Screening Advisory Committee, disrupting evidence-based updates to newborn screening and risking delayed diagnoses.
• Withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization, severing access to global disease surveillance systems and pandemic coordination.
• HHS terminated seven federal grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics totalling millions of dollars for researching on sudden infant deaths, improving adolescent health, preventing fetal alcohol syndrome, and identifying autism early. A federal judge reinstated the grants in early January.
• The USDA announced relocation plans for over half of its Washington, DC-based workforce, which will weaken the USDA’s capacity to govern at a national level.
• Threatened to cut funding from universities hurting research and student admissions.
• Decreased research footprint in nearly all federal agencies that conduct science research.
• Abruptly cut then restored nearly $2 billion in SAMHSA funding, creating chaos and confusion for mental health and addiction grant recipients nationwide.
• Halted all federal grant funding via OMB memo (later withdrawn under court pressure).
• Barred NIH subawards to foreign institutions, cutting off international research partnerships.
• Eliminated the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) programs except for the World Trade Center and Black Lung Disease programs, gutting workplace safety and occupational health research. After 9 months of uncertainty, all NIOSH staff were reinstated as of early January.
• Pushed back against community water fluoridation efforts, and initiated steps to end federal support for community water fluoridation.
• Targeted CDC’s Chronic Disease Division (NCCDPHP) for elimination, undermining programs focused on tobacco prevention, cancer screening, and school health.
• Closed CDC’s Division of STD Prevention and Viral Hepatitis laboratories, which previously served as global reference centers for tracking antibiotic resistance and emerging infectious threats. Months later, some staff were rehired.

Communication Suppression and Scientific Censorship

• Signed an executive order that gives political appointees sweeping authority over federal grant funding, letting political ideology decide which research, programs, and institutions get public funding, replacing the usual merit-based, expert-led process.
• The CDC put an indefinite hold on an Infectious Disease Data Project, withholding real-time information on 127 notifiable diseases.
• EPA refused to release a completed report on the toxicity of PFAS, silencing and censoring the research done by scientists. This came after the administration cut $15 million in PFAS research.
• President Trump and RFK Jr. claimed Tylenol causes autism, despite there being no evidence, then walked back the claims. The damage had already been done.
• RFK Jr. made false claims about COVID-19 deaths and vaccine safety during a Senate Finance Committee hearing.
• Required all federal health agency guidance to be reviewed by political appointees.
• Censored terms like “equity,” “diversity,” “nonbinary,” and “systemic racism” in federal research and agency communications.
• Censored federal scientists critical of administration narratives, which led some to resign, citing suppression of research and censorship.
• Promoted misinformation about seed oils, infant formula, and CGMs as diet tools over evidence-based obesity treatment, fueling distrust in public health recommendations.

Vaccines and Immunization Policy

• Changed the pediatric vaccine schedule reducing the number of vaccines for all children amidst record-level disease outbreaks.
• RFK Jr. fired all 17 career members of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replaced them with 8 new, hand-picked members, some of which have conflicts of interest.
• ACIP ended the longstanding universal birth-dose vaccine for hepatitis B, and the CDC adopted the recommendation, despite decades of evidence-based research showing its benefits.
• The CDC awarded a $1.6 million unethical hepatitis B vaccine grant to Danish researchers. As of early January 2026, Africa CDC confirmed the study was canceled due to its unethical nature.
• RFK Jr. updated the CDC’s “Autism and Vaccines” webpage with a false claim that there is no evidence that vaccines do not cause autism. This contradicts the CDC’s decades-long, evidence-based stance that vaccines do not cause autism.
• Undermined the spread of measles, threatening domestic and global disease control.
• Canceled key CDC and FDA vaccine advisory meetings, including sessions on flu strain selection and childhood immunization schedules, disrupting routine vaccine planning and oversight.
• Removed COVID-19 vaccines from the CDC’s routine immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, despite established benefits in preventing severe outcomes.
• Limited approval of updated COVID-19 vaccines to seniors and high-risk groups, requiring new clinical trials for broader use, potentially restricting access for millions of Americans, then completely changed the COVID-19 vaccine guidance from including at-risk populations to recommending that every person individually consult with their doctor.
• Terminated $258 million in HIV vaccine research funding, setting back global efforts to develop a viable HIV vaccine by an estimated decade.
• Canceled a $600 million contract with Moderna for avian flu vaccine development, raising concerns about pandemic preparedness and national health security.

Environmental Health and Deregulation

• EPA launched the “biggest deregulation day in U.S. history,” targeting environmental protections across multiple sectors.
• Stopped considering lives saved when setting rules on air pollution, which benefits corporations and puts human lives at risk of increased pollution exposure.
• Eliminated the HHS Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE), which addresses the health impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities.
• Climate reports were removed from federal websites and the EPA removed references to human-caused climate change from its website, undermining climate preparedness.
• Announced plans to roll back PFAS drinking water protections, despite mounting evidence of harm.
• Approved PFAS Pesticides that could contaminate food and soil for generations.
• Slashed EPA staff and budget by $300 million, including deep cuts to enforcement and environmental justice teams.
• Established an email system allowing industrial polluters to request presidential exemptions from Clean Air Act regulations, enabling companies to bypass rules on toxic emissions like mercury and arsenic.
• Set plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which will lead to decreased forecasting capacity, disaster preparedness, and global meteorology.
• Made plans to abandon an air pollution rule that could prevent thousands of deaths.
• Proposed a change to the clean water act, narrowing protected streams and wetlands in the US.
• Proposed to remove a regulatory definition of “harm” under the endangered species act.
• Eliminated the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, undermining the agency’s scientific integrity and legislative mandates.
• Vetoed a clean water project in Colorado that would have provided clean tap water for tens of thousands of people.
• Temporarily cut clean energy programs on farms and in rural communities, reducing support for climate-smart agriculture.
• Defunded programs designed to protect disadvantaged communities facing disproportionate environmental harm.
• The CDC was unable to assist with the lead contamination crisis in Wisconsin due to understaffing and budget cuts.

Healthcare Access, Drug Costs, and Tobacco Policy

• The Trump administration passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that includes the largest cuts to healthcare in U.S. history, including over $900 billion in Medicaid alone.
• Congress did not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, leaving millions of Americans with increased premiums heading into 2026.
• Closed the CDC Office on Smoking and Health, putting tobacco data at risk of losing funding.
• Rescinded Biden-era EMTALA guidance requiring emergency rooms to provide abortion care when a pregnant patient’s life is at risk.
• Reversed the planned menthol cigarette ban, despite overwhelming evidence it would save lives and reduce tobacco-related health disparities, particularly in Black communities.
• HHS instituted a new pilot program that would require 340 billion hospitals to pay full price for medications upfront, benefitting big pharmacy corporations and leaving many hospitals without the resources to pay upfront. As of January, this pilot is on hold.
• Made major cuts to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), including suicide prevention and community mental health grants, despite rising mental health needs.
• Shortened Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment periods, making it harder for people to sign up for insurance.
• Reversed Medicare drug negotiation policy, allowing pharmaceutical companies to raise prescription drug prices without limits.
• Suspended J-1 visa processing, threatening to strain residency programs and worsen healthcare workforce shortages prior to the July 1 start date. While J-1 visa processing has resumed, the application process now includes social media checks and suspensions for certain countries.

Child Health, Maternal Health, and Reproductive Health

• Terminated the majority of the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, affecting the branch devoted to women’s health and fertility, the Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance team, and the team disseminating contraceptive best practices.
• Prohibited federal Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood and other organizations that provide family planning and reproductive health services if they perform abortions. Earlier this month a judge blocked these cuts in 22 states.
• Froze over $10 billion in childcare funding in democratic states without providing evidence of misuse. A judge has temporarily blocked this freeze.
• Proposed elimination of state maternal mortality review committees that inform recommendations using mortality data to prevent pregnancy-related deaths. The program was ultimately not eliminated.
• Withheld Title X funding, pausing family planning programs and resources. HHS quietly released the funding in December 2025.
• Terminated all USAID global family planning grants, denying contraceptive care to women and families.
• Reinstated the Global Gag Rule, decreasing access to sexual and reproductive health services.
• Announced proposed regulatory actions to restrict gender affirming care for young people.

Global Health and Foreign Aid

• Estimated to have caused approximately 300,000 deaths globally, including over 200,000 children, due to abrupt cuts in aid programs combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, malnutrition, and providing clean water and food aid.
• Froze $43 billion in USAID funding without notice, halting vaccine distribution, disaster relief, and food aid programs, and then fully eliminated USAID which could cause more than 14 million additional global deaths by 2030.
• Cut a $1 billion grant to GAVI, the global vaccine alliance.
• Withdrew from 66 UN bodies focused on climate, health, and science, which will negatively impact global health data and outcomes.
• Paused PEPFAR funding for global HIV/AIDS relief (later granted waiver but created confusion and service disruption).
• Refused to commemorate World AIDS day even though progress has been driven by awareness, prevention efforts, treatment access, and global coordination.

Wrap Up

When Trump was elected again, many of us braced ourselves for what that would mean for public health, science, and basic social protections. But even those expectations underestimated the scale and speed of what has followed. We are now seeing experienced scientists and public health professionals leaving research institutions and federal agencies at alarming rates, the stripping of essential public health funding, and the steady erosion of some of the few programs designed to directly help people stay fed, housed, healthy, and safe. At the same time, scientific integrity has been weakened through censorship, political interference, and the sidelining of experts, replacing evidence with ideology. These losses will take years, if not decades, to rebuild, and documenting them is essential for visibility and for our collective ability to respond to what comes next.

Game Recognizes Game

When the Germans are saying you look like a Nazi, you look like a Nazi.

So the question is: Who are you trying to impress with that shit?

Tread On Me, Daddy

If we try to hold government power to account, we're considered "domestics terrorists".

🚨 HOLY SMOKES: ICE agents in Maine just photographed a civilian’s face and name and said they’re putting it in a database.

When the woman asked why, the agent’s response was basically: “Now you’re considered a domestic terrorist.”

This is intimidation. Not law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/68dEiVd2wa

— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) January 23, 2026

Today's Hawk

A little karma for ya, today?

Fridays With Amanda

Today's Belle

Last time, I think we just wanted a return to normal. Now I feel like we're beginning to grasp for something that bears any vague resemblance to reality.

Then And Now

They weren't angry about masks. They were angry about being asked to care.

History

"If you know what's going on, why don't you act? Why do you tolerate the rulers robbing you, in public and in private, of one right after another? Until one day absolutely nothing remains but The State, under the command of criminals and drunkards."

--Sophie Scholl, The White Rose Campaign