New Congress Members to Challenge Trump's Health Equity Cuts — SkimNews
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- Abdul El-Sayed and Jasmine Clark, incoming lawmakers with epidemiology and microbiology backgrounds, pledged to defend health equity initiatives from Trump administration rollbacks.
- Trump administration terminated hundreds of grants focused on medical inequities and shuttered programs to diversify the scientific workforce over the past two years.
- Jasmine Clark criticized federal grant screening that flags terms like 'disproportionate,' 'Black,' or 'gender,' saying it obstructs vital health disparities research.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as health secretary, faces calls for accountability from incoming lawmakers over the administration’s termination of equity-related research funding.
- NIH has not responded to requests for comment on its grant review process, which researchers say now censors language tied to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Philip Alberti cited polling showing 75% of U.S. adults support health equity goals, including majorities across ideological groups, countering claims of controversy.
Why it matters: With Democrats controlling Congress, researchers affected by grant terminations and censorship of equity-focused language now have allies who can demand accountability from Kennedy’s HHS and restore funding—directly impacting the future of health disparities research and workforce diversity in science.
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