Latest news with #PandemicandAll-HazardsPreparednessAct
Politico
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Bush 43 alum joins ‘shadow' RNC
With Daniel Lippman FIRST IN PI: Marc Racicot, the former Montana governor and RNC chair, is joining Our Republican Legacy as chair, lending his voice to the organization as it expands efforts to grow grassroots support for the pre-MAGA era of the GOP ahead of the midterms next year and presidential election in 2028. — Racicot joins former Sens. John Danforth and William Cohen, two founding chairs of the nonprofit that bills itself as the inheritor of true Republican Party values. Former Reps. Charlie Dent and Barbara Comstock are also being elevated to chairs as the organization seeks to grow its foothold in all 50 states. — 'There are a lot of good people that can come back into the fold, we just have to have the time and the messaging to work with them and show them what's going on,' Racicot told PI. — Racicot, who left public service after successfully managing President George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign, went on to spend four years as the president of the American Insurance Association (now known as the American Property Casualty Insurance Association). — 'We're building a 50-state national committee, basically a shadow version of the party,' Our Republican Legacy senior adviser Chris Vance told PI, while emphasizing that the organization is not a PAC and will not be endorsing specific candidates or making donations. — 'Maybe we, at some point, will form a PAC,' Vance said. 'But right now we are an advocacy group, like the NRA is an advocacy group, the Sierra Club, all these different organizations. They can't say the magic words — elect, donate, that sort of thing — but they still have a very big political impact by fighting for their ideas.' Happy first Friday of Summer and welcome to PI. This is Daniel (no, not that one) and I'm your guest host today. Send tips and recommendations on how to beat the heat this weekend to dbarnes@ or ping me on Signal. And follow me on X: @dnlbrns. Caitlin will be back on Monday. You can always reach her on Signal, email her at coprysko@ and follow her on X: @caitlinoprysko. BURR LOBBYING FOR BIOTECH: Former Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) will represent the Biotechnology Innovation Organization on issues related to drug pricing and supply chains, Medicare and Medicaid and reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, POLITICO's Amanda Chu reports. Burr is currently health policy chair at DLA Piper. FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES: Gaurav Srivastava, the Indian American businessperson who last year had major donations to Democrats frozen or returned after allegations he had posed as a spy for the CIA, now appears to be trying to curry favor with top Republicans, Daniel L. reports. — Srivastava on Thursday posted a photo he recently took with Vice President JD Vance, adding in a caption, 'Pleasure seeing Vice President @JDVance during last week's event in #WashingtonDC as we work towards strengthening America's future!' — The photo was taken at the performance of 'Les Misérables' at the Kennedy Center that President Donald Trump and Vance attended along with a slew of other senior administration and Republican figures. — 'Thousands of people were at the Kennedy Center that evening, and the Vice President took photos with many of them,' a spokesperson for Vance said in a statement to PI. A spokesperson for Srivastava did not provide a comment. Srivastava has disputed the 'fake spy' allegations in the past. — Earlier this year, Srivastava also had lunch with Hunter Biden, according to photos the Daily Mail snapped. — In 2023, the FBI reportedly began investigating Srivastava and where he got his money. Srivastava has been engaged in a long-running battle with Dutch oil trader Niels Troost after their business relationship went sour. An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the status of the investigation. FOUL-MOUTH FAIN: 'In a scathing report from a court-appointed union watchdog, UAW President Shawn Fain is depicted as a foul-mouthed, hotheaded leader,' Liam Rappleye reports in the Detroit Free Press. — The 93-page report makes several references to 'a moment where Fain told hundreds of UAW members at a large staff meeting that he would 'slit' or 'cut' their throats if they messed with his closest aides.' — 'In another anecdote — which Fain admitted to be true — the UAW president confronted a print shop employee and launched into a 'tirade' upon hearing that [UAW Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock] wanted a photo of herself to appear alongside Fain on a pamphlet outlining details of an ongoing bargaining campaign.' — 'Fain reportedly confronted the Head of the Print Shop in a tirade, demanding, among other things, that she tell him, 'Who told you to put [Mock's] motherf------ photo on there? This is my motherf------ membership.'' SPOTTED at the Rainey Center's 'Tea Party Revival: Don't Tax the Light' at Butterworth's on Wednesday night: Citizen Solutions Inc.'s Tomer Kagan, National Nuclear Security Administration's Charles Moran, RNC's CJ Pearson, Log Cabin Republicans' Ed Williams, Andre Soriano, TSG Advocates' Chase Kroll, Rainey Center's Sarah Hunt, Chet Love and Connor Sandagata, Foundation for American Innovation's Zach Graves, Latinos for America First's Bianca Gracia, HHS' Gregory Angelo, Fox News' Ryan Schmelz, Treasury's Shane Shannon and Dean Ball of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Jobs report — The Modular Building Institute has added Alex Carmack as government affairs director, Andrew Muchnick as government affairs manager and Chastity Meade as communications manager. Carmack joins from the United Network for Organ Sharing where he worked as a policy analyst. Muchnick was previously a senior director in Bullpen Strategy Group's media intelligence practice. Meade was a community manager and social media manager for the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium. — Mike Spratt has joined the Investment Company Institute as an associate general counsel from the SEC where he previously was assistant director in the division of investment management disclosure review. — The American Land Title Association has promoted three members of their government relations staff. Elizabeth Blosser has been appointed chief strategy, communications and innovation officer. She was previously vice president of government affairs overseeing state advocacy. Emily Tryon has been promoted to chief advocacy officer. She was previously vice president of government affairs managing federal advocacy. Kevin Cameron takes on a new title as vice president, head of federal government affairs. He was previously senior director of federal government affairs. — Gregory Cox is the new executive director of the office of government relations at Texas Christian University. He was most recently an attorney in private practice and is a Greg Abbott alum. — Brett Tolman is the new chair for law and justice at America First Policy Institute. He previously served as chair of AFPI's weaponization of government initiative. — CropLife America has added Tonya Parish as senior manager of communications and government relations. Parish was previously communications manager for the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. She is joined at CropLife by Jay Ivey, new manager of government relations. He was previously state outreach and public affairs coordinator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. New Joint Fundraisers Blue Dog Victory Fund (Cooke for Congress, Rep. Jared Golden, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, Rep. Lou Correa, Rep. Adam Gray, Rep. Sanford Bishop, Rep. Jim Costa, Rep. Henry Cuellar, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, Rep. Mike Thompson) New PACs American Fidelity PAC (Super PAC) BDA PAC (Hybrid PAC) Founding Father's Vision PAC (Hybrid PAC) DraftKings Inc. Political Action Committee DBA DraftKings PAC (PAC) Fire Fetterman (Super PAC) Archer Aviation Inc. Political Action Committee (AKA Archer PAC) (PAC) MAGA KY (Super PAC) Lunatic Fringe Political Action Committee (PAC) New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS Axadvocacy Government Relations: 503 Capital Partners Ballard Partners: Transportation Management Services Boundary Stone Partners: Mantel Capture, Inc Boundary Stone Partners: National Carbon Technologies, LLC Brightspring Health Services: Brightspring Health Services Continental Strategy, LLC: Cm Consortium LLC Covenant Government Affairs, LLC: Auto-Mark, Inc. Dba Sea Foam Sales Company Covenant Government Affairs, LLC: Royal Engineering And Consulting, LLC. Cruce Capitol Consulting LLC: American Sugar Cane League Of The USa, Inc. Dga Group Government Relations LLC: Kyowa Kirin Inc, USa DLA Piper LLP (US): Biotechnology Innovation Organization Ervin Graves Strategy Group, LLC: Hereford Ethanol Partners, L.P. Hogan Lovells US LLP: Artanis Capital, LLC J.A. Green And Company (Formerly LLC): Aimpoint US J.A. Green And Company (Formerly LLC): American Center For Manufacturing & Innovation Federal General LLC Javelin Advisors LLC: Fred Daibes Lilette Advisors: Rf Catalytic Capital Lilette Advisors: Vale USa LLC Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: Sentinelone Inc. Michael Best Strategies LLC: Charter Casting Michael Best Strategies LLC: Dairyland Power Cooperative Michael Best Strategies LLC: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (Kkr) Michael Best Strategies LLC: Maxar Intelligence Michael Best Strategies LLC: Tricolor Holdings Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough: United Opticians Association Park Strategies, LLC: Global Dairy Distributors LLC Steptoe LLP: Lake Charles Methanol Ii, LLC The Mckeon Group, Inc.: Momentum Solutions The Mckeon Group, Inc.: Sunation Energy The Mckeon Group, Inc.: Umo & National Association Of Ukrainian Defense Industries (Naudi) The Vogel Group: Allentown, Inc The Vogel Group: Auto Approve The Vogel Group: Canadian National Railway The Vogel Group: Contingency Capital The Vogel Group: Graftech International Ltd. The Vogel Group: William Tierney Venn Strategies: Ohio Coating Company New Lobbying Terminations Accelerate Strategies: Sports And Fitness Industry Association Cgcn Group, LLC: National Oilseed Processors Association Ess Tech, Inc.: Ess Tech, Inc. Forbes-Tate: Crestview Strategies Obo Teknion Forbes-Tate: Ginkgo Bioworks Forbes-Tate: Lykos Therapeutics Lot Sixteen LLC: North Star Manganese, Inc. Ms. Virginia Ainslie: American Geophysical Union
Politico
13-03-2025
- Health
- Politico
CDC nominee withdrawn
Presented by the Coalition for Medicare Choices With Adam Cancryn and Sophie Gardner Driving The Day DAVE IS OUT — The White House withdrew its nominee to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in an abrupt move just hours before his confirmation hearing, our Adam Cancryn reports. Trump officials were expected to inform the Senate Thursday morning that Dave Weldon, a former Florida representative, will no longer be its pick for the agency, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to POLITICO. Weldon had faced growing scrutiny over his anti-vaccine views, including an extensive record during his time in Congress of raising questions about the safety of vaccines and their potential links to autism. That history had prompted concerns within the Senate and others close to the process, fueling constant rumors over the past several weeks that he would be withdrawn. But the decision to kill his nomination just before his testimony in front of the Senate health committee indicates it became clear to the White House that Weldon did not have enough support among Republicans to have any path to confirmation. Axios first reported the White House's decision. WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE. The high pollen count in the Washington area has been killing me lately. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to ccirruzzo@ and khooper@ and follow along @ChelseaCirruzzo and @Kelhoops. In Congress NIH, FDA VOTE — The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will vote on two other key HHS appointees today. The committee will vote whether to approve Dr. Marty Makary as FDA commissioner and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as NIH director. During his hearing, Bhattacharya promised to cut 'frivolous' NIH spending and indicated he wanted to make science move faster at the agency. Makary pledged his decisions would be data-driven as head of the FDA, but he carefully sidestepped questions about the abortion pill mifepristone, FDA staffing and vaccine advisers. Both are expected to clear the committee. HEALTH BILL TALKS — A bipartisan Senate health care package is in the works, a key lawmaker told POLITICO's Ben Leonard and Daniel Payne. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee leading the talks on reviving the package, said in an interview Wednesday that he's hopeful Republicans are ready to pass it. 'They really know it's the right thing to do,' he said. 'They just are debating their internal politics.' The bipartisan deal, which was scrapped at the last minute from a year-end government funding bill, would have reupped the opioid-fighting SUPPORT Act and the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act. The legislation would have extended several eased rules implemented during the pandemic: Medicare's telehealth rules, allowances for in-home hospital care and provisions letting employers cover telehealth services for patients in high-deductible health plans before meeting their deductibles. The agreement would have also provided funding for community health centers and imposed new requirements for transparency for pharmacy benefit managers, which negotiate drug costs. But when the bill was first introduced as part of the December package, Elon Musk, and then-President-elect Donald Trump, said too many extraneous provisions muddied up the funding bill and got congressional Republicans to pull it. What's next? Republicans were noncommittal when asked Wednesday about talks with Wyden to move the health care package at this time. Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo of Idaho declined to comment. A day earlier, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told reporters he'd 'love' to see a standalone vote but was unsure about the path forward. Despite that the original package was initially part of cross-party collaboration, not all Republicans want to move ahead in a bipartisan way. AROUND THE AGENCIES NIH OUSTER — John Burklow, a nearly 40-year veteran of the National Institutes of Health, is being removed as the agency's chief of staff and replaced by a political appointee, according to three people familiar with the matter who were granted anonymity because the decision isn't yet public, POLITICO's Adam Cancryn and Erin Schumaker report. The agency is expected to appoint Seana Cranston as the NIH's new chief of staff, two of the people said, though they cautioned it's not final and could change. Cranston is a former deputy chief of staff to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and also spent several years as the lawmaker's legislative director. The move would represent a sharp departure from the NIH's longtime practice of appointing career officials as chief of staff to the agency's director. Burklow, who's held the role since 2021, previously spent 20 years as a senior communications official at NIH — a tenure that spanned Republican and Democratic administrations. Trump health officials have signaled plans to drastically overhaul the NIH, including refocusing its research, revamping its workforce and slashing funding for universities and grantees. Last month, Trump aides ordered the NIH to impose a blanket cap on funding to universities for administrative and facilities costs — prompting lawsuits and warnings that the move would force schools to shutter laboratories and lay off staff. The decision has since been blocked by the courts. More recently, the NIH canceled $250 million in grants to Columbia University. President Donald Trump's pick to run the NIH, Stanford Medical School professor Jay Bhattacharya, has long criticized the agency for ceding too much power to career officials. An NIH spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. FIRED CDC STAFFERS: 'REHIRE US' — One hundred fired CDC employees have asked HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy to rehire them, arguing in a letter that their firing was unlawful, Sophie reports. The employees were placed on administrative leave — along with hundreds of their colleagues — in mid-February, and their terminations will become official on Friday. But the employees argue that their firings weren't legal, citing revised OPM guidance from March 4 specifying that 'OPM is not directing agencies to take any specific performance-based actions regarding probationary employees. Agencies have ultimate decision-making authority over, and responsibility for, such personnel actions.' An HHS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The employees also wrote that their termination letters cited inadequate performance, saying it was 'a claim which was unsubstantiated.' 'We maintain that the manner in which we were terminated did not follow due process requirements and should be found as not lawful,' fired employees wrote in a letter addressed to Kennedy on Wednesday. 'We respectfully request that the Agency continue to follow through on its high standards for accountability and commitment to transparency and lawful professional conduct.' Names in the News Dr. Nirav Shah is joining the faculty of Maine's Colby College, where he will help design public health curricula. Shah was most recently principal deputy director of the CDC and, for a brief time, acting director. WHAT WE'RE READING POLITICO reports on the Trump administration's move to pull Biden-era drug price models. The New York Times reports on cuts to SAMHSA services. NPR reports on the search for answers to long Covid five years after the pandemic's start. The Associated Press goes inside a study on the impacts of ultraprocessed foods.
