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Senator Murray Launches Public Health Working Group
Confirmed
In Short: U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced the launch of the Public Health for America Working Group, an initiative aimed at developing ideas, safeguards, and legislation to rebuild and improve the nation's public health system.
U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced the launch of the Public Health for America Working Group, an initiative aimed at developing ideas, safeguards, and legislation to rebuild and improve the nation's public health system.
The announcement comes after nearly two years of unprecedented attacks on health agencies, scientists, and institutions that save lives and keep Americans safe and healthy.
Murray highlighted the severe undermining of public trust in health agencies, noting that trust in CDC recommendations dropped from 77% to 50% during the Trump administration.
In a statement, Murray emphasized the need for a robust public health system that can withstand future political challenges. "We can’t just put back what was there before… We have to build something that can’t be broken the next time someone decides science is inconvenient," she said.
The initiative aims to address critical health issues alongside the healthcare system, ensuring that everyone has access to clean water, safe food, and a strong public health response during crises.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made comments at a MAHA summit this week, discussing a new GLP-1 weight loss drug on CBS News 24/7’s Mornings.
Kennedy has said his goal is to “restore faith” in federal health agencies, but recent actions have raised concerns.
According to Ars Technica, Kennedy instructed new CDC director Erica Schwartz to delete two measles deaths from the agency’s website, a move that has sparked controversy.
In August 2026, 87% of poll respondents said they are confident that their doctor, nurse, or other primary healthcare provider is providing trustworthy information about matters of public health, statistically unchanged from 88% in September 2024.
Confidence in the NIH, however, dropped from 74% in September 2024 to 61% in August 2026.
Kennedy’s comments and actions have drawn criticism from health experts and advocates, who argue that his policies and rhetoric have contributed to public health crises.
The Trump administration finalized a new rule requiring healthcare providers to disclose more accessible public pricing disclosures, a move Kennedy praised as providing a “clear view of what healthcare actually costs.”
What this adds
The initiative aims to address the erosion of public trust in health agencies and build a more resilient public health system.
Kennedy's actions and rhetoric have raised concerns among health experts and advocates, highlighting the challenges in restoring public trust.
What's confirmed
- U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced the launch of the Public Health for America Working Group, an initiative aimed at developing ideas, safeguards, and legislation to rebuild and improve the nation's public health system.
- The announcement comes after nearly two years of unprecedented attacks on health agencies, scientists, and institutions that save lives and keep Americans safe and healthy.
- Murray highlighted the severe undermining of public trust in health agencies, noting that trust in CDC recommendations dropped from 77% to 50% during the Trump administration.
- In a statement, Murray emphasized the need for a robust public health system that can withstand future political challenges. "We can’t just put back what was there before… We have to build something that can’t be broken the next time someone decides science is inconvenient," she said.
- The initiative aims to address critical health issues alongside the healthcare system, ensuring that everyone has access to clean water, safe food, and a strong public health response during crises.
- Meanwhile, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made comments at a MAHA summit this week, discussing a new GLP-1 weight loss drug on CBS News 24/7’s Mornings.
- Kennedy has said his goal is to “restore faith” in federal health agencies, but recent actions have raised concerns.
- According to Ars Technica, Kennedy instructed new CDC director Erica Schwartz to delete two measles deaths from the agency’s website, a move that has sparked controversy.
- In August 2026, 87% of poll respondents said they are confident that their doctor, nurse, or other primary healthcare provider is providing trustworthy information about matters of public health, statistically unchanged from 88% in September 2024.
- Confidence in the NIH, however, dropped from 74% in September 2024 to 61% in August 2026.
- Kennedy’s comments and actions have drawn criticism from health experts and advocates, who argue that his policies and rhetoric have contributed to public health crises.
What's still developing
- Kennedy Jr., according to two reports released today.
- Soon after Pennsylvania health officials announced the deaths, Kennedy got into a heated exchange with Governor Josh Shapiro, who criticized Kennedy’s anti-vaccine rhetoric and misinformation as helping to fuel such outbreaks.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still secretly counting two measles deaths that were deleted from the agency’s public measles data—a deletion that occurred at the direct request of anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F.
- Kennedy’s speech at the anti-vaccine Children’s Health Defense conference is his first public embrace of the group since taking over at HHS, Isa Cueto reports.
- A longitudinal poll conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center from April 2021 to August 2026 shows Americans’ confidence in their personal healthcare providers to inform them about matters of public health remains high.
- In a wide-ranging forum Tuesday, Utah Rep. Mike Kennedy said he sees promise for enhanced use of artificial intelligence in medicine and believes states, not the federal government, should have broad authority over matters of public health and disease control.
- Kennedy, a physician, said communities throughout the country experienced the COVID-19 pandemic in very different ways and he believes states are in a better position to tailor their own responses to such outbreaks.
- The left-leaning Center for Science in the Public Interest has joined other groups in calling the post “a critical role as the nation’s chief health communicator” informing the nation about the best available science.
- Kennedy said he sold his medical practice when he was elected to Congress, but still sees patients in Utah and uses notetaking and transcription software to make notes of their conditions.
- Kennedy is sponsoring federal legislation seeking to limit gender-affirming care for teenagers and extending the timeline for patients to sue a healthcare provider if they later regret the treatment.
- Kennedy, a first-term Republican congressman representing Utah’s current 3rd Congressional District, made the comments in a Q&A session hosted by the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics and the conservative Sutherland Institute.
- These steps have severely undermined public trust–with polls showing trust in CDC recommendations dropping from 77% to 50% over Trump’s first year in office this term.