Inoculating Infants
Vaccines have essentially eliminated the liver-destroying disease hepatitis B in kids. Today, there could be a vote to end the government’s recommendation that babies get inoculated against that infection within 24 hours of birth.
A CDC advisory panel, which HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy overhauled to add people who share his skepticism about vaccines, is scheduled the vote on the matter this afternoon. Changing the policy, public health experts say, is all but certain to endanger children, Jessica Nix reports. Read More
There are multiple ways to contract the disease, including sex, mother-to-child transmission, exposure through cuts or sores, or sharing a toothbrush with an infected person. People don’t always know they have it.
Scrapping current guidelines would be a dramatic change by advisors hand-picked by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who fired every expert previously serving on that panel. As Ian Lopez reported, today’s meeting also is the first since Kennedy named a new chair.
See Also:
- Exiting FDA Official Raised Concerns in Meeting With RFK Jr.
- Former FDA Commissioners Raise Alarm Over New Vaccine Policy
Childhood deaths are projected to increase globally because of cuts to health funding programs by donors like the US, the foundation of billionaire Bill Gates says in a new report.
More than 200,000 additional children under five are expected to die this year, according to modeling in the Gates Foundation’s annual Goalkeepers report, Ashleigh Furlong and Janice Kew report. Cuts by President Donald Trump’s administration are “part of that picture” contributing to the expected rise in deaths, Gates said in an interview. Read More
Boat-Strike Briefing
Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker and the committee’s ranking Democrat will meet today with the admiral who ordered a second strike on an alleged drug-running boat in September.
Wicker (R-Miss.) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) have questions about the reported targeting of survivors seen clinging to the wreckage of their boat. Reed said the senators want to know whether those strikes “conform with the law of war,” the military’s code of justice, and international law. He also called for the public release of the strike videos.
The meeting comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces heat over whether he gave a no-survivors attack order. And that pressure may increase when a declassified version of a report on Signalgate by the DOD’s acting inspector general is released. The IG report is expected to say the defense secretary could have put troops at risk by sending texts on his phone through the Signal messaging app about a US strike against Houthi rebels in Yemen, Tony Capaccio reports. Read More
Also Read: Americans Back US Military Fighting for Taiwan if China Invades
Political Athletics
House Republicans are trying to rally the votes to codify rules for paying student athletes after members of both parties rebelled against the legislation, Zach C. Cohen reports.
A vote on legislation to deal with name-image-likeness agreements and set how schools compensate sports team members (
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who voted against adoption of the rule governing floor debate, said lawmakers should have more time to discuss the legislation. And at least one co-sponsor, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), said changes to the bill meant he could no longer support it. Read More
Another sport, boxing, is the subject of a House Education and Workforce subcommittee hearing today. Lonnie Ali, the widow of Muhammad Ali, is among the witnesses scheduled to talk about a proposal (
Video Just Won’t Fade
The Trump administration is still vexed by that video in which Democrats with military and intelligence backgrounds advised service members about defying unlawful orders. Ben Penn reports that career leaders at the FBI’s Washington Field Office have pushed back against their new bosses, who want to investigate those lawmakers for seditious conspiracy.
That Civil War-era law requires prosecutors to prove a defendant conspired to use force to oppose US government authority or to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any US law. The crime carries a prison term of up to 20 years.
“It’s not something that is casually investigated or charged, especially without evidence that a case involves something more than protected speech,” said Alexis Loeb, former deputy chief of the Washington US attorney’s office’s Capitol siege section.
Penn’s sources say the career supervisors cited a lack of legal and factual basis to initiate a criminal case. Read More
See Also: Democrat Targeted in FBI Video Inquiry Says He Won’t Comply
The National Defense Authorization Act is one of Congress’ top year-end targets and lawmakers might look to attach their last-minute priorities to the must-pass legislation.
Join BGOV’s reporters and analysts on Dec. 11 at 1 p.m. for a deep dive webinar into the bill, what its policy choices mean going forward, and how it fits into the larger spending debates in Washington. Register Here
Eye on the Economy
Cars, cookware, wiring, wind turbines, solar cells, electronics — copper is used in many ways, so multiple industries are on standby waiting for a tariff announcement.
Mark Burton and Martin Ritchie report that traders and analysts anticipate low inventories around the world as huge volumes of metal are shipped to the US before any new levies are imposed. Changing where the supply goes has already led to some higher prices. Read More
See Also:
- Bessent Under Discussion to Also Lead National Economic Council
- SEC Punts Controversial Short-Sale Disclosure Deadline Again
- BGOV OnPoint: Fate of Trump’s Emergency Tariff Authority in Flux
Big Ask
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is in town today to lobby for more wildfire recovery help, Andrew Oxford reports.
The federal government provided more than $2 billion immediately after the fires that killed at least 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures. But Newsom’s office says the White House hasn’t helped since February when the governor asked Congress for nearly $40 billion to rebuild.
Since Newsom is a potential 2028 candidate for the White House and prolific in his partisan trolling, it’s the kind of fly-in that’s likely to attract more than the usual amount of online attention.
Before You Go
Can’t Tango Solo: Trump said a meeting between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine was “reasonably good” but acknowledged he doesn’t know what the outcome will be, Skylar Woodhouse and Kate Sullivan report. “What comes out of that meeting? I can’t tell you, because it does take two to tango,” Trump told reporters. Read More
ICE Sweeps: Trump is adding New Orleans to the list of cities with a jolt of immigration operations, and Alexis Waiss reports that it has drawn a different type of litigation. The lawsuit is against Louisiana’s attorney general for threatening to prosecute those protesting against ICE’s “Operation Swamp Sweep.” Read More
Entry Barrier: The Trump administration will increase vetting of applicants for H-1B visas, with a specific instruction to reject anyone who was involved in “censorship” of free speech. The instructions were outlined in a State Department cable sent to US missions abroad on Dec. 2. Read More
Congressional Subpoena: The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed former Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith to testify about his investigations into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents after he left the White House in 2021. Chris Strohm reports that a private deposition is to take place Dec. 17, though Smith had requested that he be allowed to testify during an open, public hearing. Read More
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