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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in the dark, along with other federal agencies under the umbrella of the US Department of Health and Human Services. This week, the Trump administration again told these agencies to stop talking to the public — for how long, no one knows.
The Washington Post first reported Trump’s new directive late Tuesday night. Personnel from these agencies have been ordered to cease external communication for the time being. The move is the latest to unnerve outside experts on the direction of the country’s public health infrastructure under Trump.
The order was issued by Stefanie Spear, a newly hired deputy staff director at HHS, according to the Post. Spear was the press secretary for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during his 2024 presidential campaign, who was appointed by Trump to lead HHS. Affected staff told the Post that the directive lacked specific details, including the reasoning behind it, how long the break would last, and whether any exceptions were allowed.
Gizmodo reached out to the HHS for comment, but it did not hear back at the time of publication.
It is certainly possible that the White House is just trying to make it easier for its new health officials to transition into their roles. And this is not an unprecedented action for the White House to take to accomplish this, according to Carmen Marsit, executive associate dean at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.
“It is not uncommon for a new administration to request a pause on communications, website updates, etc., so that the new leadership reviews the information, understands how the information flows, and then works to continue communication,” Marsit told Gizmodo in an email. At the same time, he added, the purpose of this directive is currently unknown, as is its potential impact on the public.
Emerging outbreaks, new discoveries, and noteworthy drug approvals are just some of the many things agencies like the CDC and FDA regularly communicate to the general public and clinicians. Research led or conducted with the help of government scientists is also regularly published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), which often serves as an early look at trends and crises. of important health (the first reported cases of what has been called HIV/AIDS, for example). According to the Post, CDC staff plan to publish several reports in the MMWR this week, including three related to H5N1 — a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu that has increasingly begun to infect cattle, other mammals and man from last year.
Stopping communication from federal health agencies such as the CDC, NIH, and FDA during an administrative transition is highly problematic, especially with active public health threats such as the H5N1 outbreak in the United States and the Marburg outbreak in Tanzania, according to Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease. doctor in Dallas with experience in global health and pandemic preparedness.
“A general suspension of external communication by health agencies is unusual and potentially harmful,” Kuppalli told Gizmodo. “Trust in institutions like the CDC is built on transparency and reliability. Lack of communication could lead to skepticism or mistrust, making it harder to re-establish credibility when communication resumes.”
There is also past history to consider, as the Trump-led White House has a history of undermining its own federal agencies and scientists. Early in Trump’s first term, the administration similarly ordered several agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to temporarily remain silent (much of this directive was quick review, however). More worryingly, the Trump administration hindered health officials to communicate with the press and the public in the first months of the covid-19 pandemic, while their staff He is said to have tried later to modify reports from the CDC regarding covid-19, presumably with the aim of minimizing the damage of the pandemic.
The potential next head of HHS, RFK Jr., has also made it clear that he wants to dramatically change the direction of the country’s public health agencies, and probably not for the better. RFK Jr. regularly made false or misleading statements vaccines and other health topicsfor example, and he promised to suspect government-led research on infectious diseases if given the chance. And earlier this week, Trump signed an executive order resume his plan to have the United States leave the World Health Organization, which has played a vital role in supporting public health around the world.
“CDC collaborates with international partners to address global health challenges,” said Kuppalli, who previously worked with WHO as a medical officer on covid-19. “The planned withdrawal from the WHO already has implications for the role of the United States in global health, but a freeze in communication could further undermine the reputation of the United States as a leader in public health.”
If this pause persists, it may be an early indication that the CDC and other agencies will face new challenges from the Trump administration that could prevent them from communicating honestly with the public. And that is likely to bode very badly for the rest of us.
“While it is the prerogative of any administration to align federal agencies with its vision and goals, public health must be a nonpartisan priority,” Kuppalli said. “Ensuring continuity of communication from agencies like CDC, FDA and NIH during transition periods is not only wise, but essential to safeguarding the public’s health and welfare.”
