WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration moved this past week to tighten its grip on hot-button health and education issues, sending a Title IX case against Minnesota to the Justice Department, rolling out new guidance aimed at cutting prescription drug prices through direct-to-patient sales, and reshaping federal advisory panels on autism and Alzheimer’s research while spotlighting a border health surveillance program that it says is catching threats sooner.
On Monday, January 26, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education said they referred their cases against the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League to the Department of Justice for enforcement after concluding the state was violating Title IX by allowing males to compete in girls’ sports and use female-only facilities. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said, “Minnesota is violating Title IX, and we will not look the other way.” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Minnesota had “chosen defiance,” and claimed the referral came as the state faced “a massive fraud scandal exposing Governor Tim Walz’s dereliction of duty,” warning the action could lead to termination of federal funding.
The push came as HHS, on Tuesday, January 27, promoted new guidance it said clarifies how drugmakers can offer lower-cost prescription drugs directly to patients, including Medicare and Medicaid enrollees, in a way the department described as low risk under the federal anti-kickback statute if key safeguards are met. The guidance emphasized that the drugs must be sold for cash, not billed to federal programs, and not used to market other federally reimbursable products or tied to future purchases or referrals. “Americans pay too much for prescription drugs because middlemen profit from a system patients can’t see,” Kennedy said, calling the effort part of a broader initiative branded TrumpRx. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said the approach could expand options “while keeping strong guardrails in place.”
HHS also announced personnel moves designed to steer federal research and policy conversations on neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions.
On Wednesday, January 28, Kennedy announced the appointment of 21 new members to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, saying the administration intended to align autism research, diagnosis, treatment and prevention with “gold-standard science.” The appointments included clinicians, researchers, advocates and individuals with lived experience, according to the department.
On Thursday, January 29, Kennedy announced a new chair and 10 new public members for the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care, and Services, which was created under the National Alzheimer’s Project Act and meets quarterly to advise HHS. The new chair is Michelle Branham, the secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. HHS said Alzheimer’s disease affects nearly seven million Americans and projected the number could exceed 20 million by 2050.
The announcements were capped Friday, January 30, with a separate CDC statement touting the Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance program, which federal officials said has surpassed one million voluntary participants and is now providing early warning signals on emerging pathogens and variants through anonymous sampling of arriving international travelers at select U.S. airports. The program operates through public-private partnerships, the CDC said, and has also analyzed more than 2,600 airplane wastewater samples. “The broad participation of travelers enhances our ability to safeguard the nation,” said HHS Deputy Secretary and acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill.
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