Senator Murray Launches Public Health for America Working Group to Determine What Comes Next After Trump & RFK Jr.

A working group of leading national experts and Washington state public health leaders will develop a blueprint to build America's public health system stronger, more resilient, and insulated from political interference

The efforts of the working group-listening sessions, roundtables, direct outreach to key stakeholders, and more-will inform new legislative proposals to help build and improve public health in America

Murray: "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."

NYT: A Public Health-Minded Senator Asks: What Comes After Trump and Kennedy?

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, announced the launch of the Public Health for America Working Group: an initiative to develop the ideas, safeguards, and legislation needed to build and improve the nation's public health system after nearly two years of unprecedented attacks on the agencies, scientists, and institutions that save lives and keep Americans safe and healthy.

Since taking office, President Trump and Secretary Kennedy have taken unprecedented steps to politicize public health agencies, overrule experts, promote misinformation, and undermine trust in the nation's public health infrastructure. Secretary Kennedy has fired thousands of federal public health experts-including a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director who refused to go along with his anti-vaccine views. Under Secretary Kennedy, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has halted promising research, taken down data for deadly diseases, refused to accurately report measles deaths, promoted false anti-vaccine information, and more. 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.

The working group brings together some of the nation's and Washington state's most respected public health leaders to respond to these challenges. The mission of Murray's working group is not simply to restore what existed before January 2025, but to design a public health system that is stronger, more resilient, and structurally protected from political interference-no matter who holds the White House or controls Congress.

Senator Murray on the announcement of the working group:

"In public health, we say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That's not just true of disease, it's also true of corruption, incompetence, and political interference-threats it is clear our system was simply not adequately prepared for.

"Right now, Trump and RFK Jr. have put our public health system on life support. The tragic evidence of their failures is overwhelming-foodborne outbreaks met by a sluggish response that resulted in fatalities, measles cases surging to new records, and causes of death scrubbed from agency data to try and mislead the public.

"As someone who has led the charge to strengthen our public health system, learn the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, and stop Trump and RFK Jr.'s sabotage-it is clear to me we have a big undertaking ahead. All of us who care about the future of public health need to come to grips with a hard reality-the system was underfunded, already stretched thin, and far too vulnerable to politics. And now, that system, and the public's trust in it, is broken far beyond a simple repair.

"We can't just put back what was there before. We need to make sure our future public health system is immune to political interference. We have to build something that can't be broken the next time someone decides science is inconvenient. Public health policy can't become a political football-it can't shift drastically every four years based on political ideology, it has to be reliably grounded in science and facts.

"That's why I'm bringing together some of the best minds in the country in this Working Group to help me chart a course for how Congress can build trust, protect science, and safeguard the health of all Americans. I am sincerely determined to talk to anyone and everyone about what comes next to rebuild public health in America."

The Working Group will convene roundtables with researchers, providers, state, local, and Tribal health officials, and former career federal scientists; host public conversations on the future of public health; engage directly with communities and trusted messengers; and respond in real time as key public health decisions unfold. Its findings will inform nonpartisan policy proposals as Murray works to build consensus around legislation to build stronger public health infrastructure in America.

Members of the Working Group

Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein - Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; former Principal Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; former Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; former Commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department.

"Successful public health efforts help families to thrive, communities to flourish, and the nation to grow stronger," said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein. "I very much look forward to developing a blueprint for a public health system that protects every American - and I thank Senator Murray for her leadership."

Patty Hayes, RN, MN - Chair of the Washington State Board of Health; former Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County from 2014 to 2021, where she led the response to the nation's first COVID-19 outbreak; former Assistant Secretary at the Washington State Department of Health.

"I am delighted to serve on this important working group with my colleagues," said Patty Hayes. "Public Health must be there every day to address critical health issues alongside the health care system. As Chair of the WA State Board of Health, I see the impact of the politicization of public health and cuts to funding. Everyone counts on clean water, safe food, and a strong public health response when a crisis occurs. I want to thank Senator Murray's for her continued leadership and willingness take on this critical issue."

Dr. Jeffrey Levi - Professor Emeritus of Health Policy and Management at The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health; former Executive Director of Trust for America's Health; former Chair of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health; former Deputy Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy under the White House Domestic Policy Council.

"I am honored to work with Senator Murray and my colleagues on this critically important project," said Dr. Jeffrey Levi. "Senator Murray is uniquely positioned to help bring about the transformational policies and investments along with the community engagement and partnership that will strengthen our nation's public health system and restore the public's trust."

Dr. Helen Chu - Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Washington Schools of Medicine of Public Health; led the Seattle Flu Study, which identified the first known case of community-spread COVID-19 in the United States in February 2020; served on the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) until Secretary Kennedy dismissed the committee's entire membership in June 2025.

"I am honored to serve as part of this committee. As a physician and a scientist who has spent my career ensuring people have access to safe and effective vaccines, it has been a challenging few years to watch the public health systems that keep Americans safe be dismantled," said Dr. Helen Chu. "I am very much looking forward to contributing expertise on vaccines, pandemic preparedness, and academic research to this committee, and helping to rebuild our public health systems for a better future."

Dr. Vin Gupta -Pulmonologist and critical care physician; Distinguished Scholar at the University of Washington, Evans School; Senior Medical Analyst for MS NOW; Managing Director at Manatt Health; National Board Member of the American Lung Association; and Major in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Medical Corps.

"Public health works best when people can trust that the guidance they receive is grounded in evidence, communicated honestly, and protected from political interference," said Dr. Vin Gupta. "This is an opportunity not simply to rebuild what has been lost, but to design a stronger and more durable system-one that earns public trust, prioritizes prevention, and is ready to protect every community when the next threat emerges. I'm grateful to Senator Murray for bringing together this group and honored to contribute to that work."

Guiding Principles of the Working Group

The Working Group's work will be organized around six principles:

Building a System the Public Trusts: Building public confidence in science and medicine through transparency, rigorous and unbiased data, honest communication, robust opportunities for public engagement, trusted local messengers, and real partnership to ensure public health serves all communities.

Science That Can't Be Silenced: Building durable, enforceable guardrails so that decisions are based on high-quality evidence, expert advice, transparent processes, and public input - not political interference -no matter who controls the White House or Congress.

Prevention at the Core: Investing in prevention saves lives, and it saves money. The federal public health system should focus on prevention and work so all individuals and families have the opportunity to thrive by providing resources, education, and communication about preventing infectious and chronic disease.

Strong Public Health Everywhere: Modernizing federal public health agencies so they are stable, expert-driven, and accountable institutions that the American people can rely on. That includes supporting responsibilities uniquely suited to the federal government's ability to solve complex challenges, while ensuring the federal government is a valuable partner by rebuilding local institutions and infrastructure through dedicated, stable funding tied to a core set of capabilities for state, local, Tribal, and territorial health departments, as well as reinstating the United States as a leader in global health security.

Ready for the Next Threat: Strengthening the systems that detect and respond to emergencies to make sure America is never caught flat-footed again-modern data and laboratory infrastructure that is interoperable, a surge-ready workforce, a resilient medical supply chain, strong global partnerships, and a cutting-edge biomedical research enterprise.

Health for All, Not Just Some: Guaranteeing that where you live and who you are doesn't determine whether your health department can protect you. Public health communication and resources should work in cities, rural areas, Tribal nations, and every community in every part of America to ensure every person-no matter their race, income, or gender-has the same access to health information and services.

Background: Senator Murray's Record on Public Health

Senator Murray has been one of Congress's leading champions of public health for three decades, and has led the fight against the Trump administration's dismantling of the nation's health agencies from the start, including through his disastrous mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic to his unprecedented elevation of RFK Jr., a well-known anti-vax conspiracy theorist who has decimated America's public health infrastructure.

Standing up to Trump and RFK Jr.: Senator Murray forcefully opposed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to lead HHS and has been one of the leading voices in Congress holding him accountable ever since. She has fought back against his purge of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee, his mass firings of career scientists and public health experts, his cancellation of lifesaving research, and his sidelining of independent expert panels that Americans rely on for sound, evidence-based guidance. She has confronted Kennedy directly in multiple Senate HELP and Appropriations Committee hearings, led her colleagues in demanding he reverse actions that have left the nation less prepared for emerging outbreaks, and called for his firing multiple times after he ousted the CDC Director and drove the agency's senior leadership to resign-a call she continues to reiterate loudly and consistently. Following RFK Jr.'s campaign of destruction at CDC, Senator Murray was supportive of many states, including Washington state, standing up for public health and forming their own regional health authorities-but emphasized that diseases don't recognize borders, and there must be functioning and trustworthy leadership at the federal level.

Protecting public health funding as Appropriations Vice Chair: As Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and former longtime top Democrat on the subcommittee that funds public health and medical research, Senator Murray successfully fought to ensure the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills rejected President Trump's proposal to cut CDC funding by more than half and slash medical research at NIH by nearly 40 percent, and she continues to push for robust funding of public health and infectious disease programs across all government funding bills. In fiscal year 2026, this included a $415 million increase for NIH research, including targeted increases for cancer research, Alzheimer's disease, women's health, and ALS, among others. Since Murray became the top appropriator of public health and medical research funds in 2015, she increased NIH funding by roughly $18 billion, or 60%. Within CDC, the fiscal year 2026 bill increased funding for the Public Health Infrastructure grant program by $10 million and also included a $10 million increase to data modernization to continue to help build state public health departments and their data infrastructure. It also included a $60 million increase for key programs supported by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) focused on increasing the nation's stockpile of medical countermeasures and bolstering advanced research and development of select treatments and cures to ensure our health system is prepared to respond when disaster strikes.

Building the nation's public health infrastructure: Senator Murray first introduced the Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act (PHISLA)in 2019 and has reintroduced it most recently in July 2023. PHISLA would establish a dedicated program, ramping up to $4.5 billion annually, to fund a core set of capabilities at state, local, Tribal, and territorial health departments and end the "cycle of crisis and complacency" in public health funding. Murray's bill represents the most comprehensive legislation to build up America's public health infrastructure in Congress so far. While Murray continues to push for a landmark investment in public health infrastructure, in fiscal year 2022 she established the Public Health Infrastructure grant program at CDC with annual funding of $200 million, which Murray has since increased to $360 million in fiscal year 2026.

Strengthening pandemic preparedness: As Chair of the HELP Committee, Senator Murray authored and passed into law the bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics Act in 2022, which strengthened the nation's public health and medical preparedness and response systems, authorized ARPA-H, and, among other provisions, required for the first time that the CDC Director be confirmed by the Senate. She previously helped lead reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act and fought for emergency funding to respond to Ebola in 2014 and Zika in 2016.

Leading the response to COVID-19: When Washington state became the first epicenter of COVID-19, Senator Murray was among the first, and most insistent, in Congress to demand widespread testing and to introduce emergency paid sick leave legislation so workers could stay home without losing a paycheck-a provision later enacted in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Throughout the pandemic, she pressed the Trump Administration and its officials about the issues with their COVID-19 response from her position as HELP Ranking Member, later as HELP Chair, in addition to her bipartisan work on pandemic preparedness, she helped deliver the American Rescue Plan Act's historic investments in public health, including $7.66 billion to hire and train public health workers.

Fighting political interference in science: During the first Trump administration, Senator Murray launched the "Save Our Science" Political Interference Tracker to document interference in the COVID-19 response, introduced the STOP Act to investigate political meddling at HHS's scientific agencies, and joined Senators Warren and Peters in securing a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into political interference at CDC and FDA. That GAO review found in 2022 that CDC, FDA, NIH, and ASPR had no procedures to define, report, or address political interference in scientific decision-making. Most recently, Murray secured language to prevent the Trump administration from implementing the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) proposed grants rule to politicize all federal grants, especially health and science grants, through the duration of the current continuing resolution. Murray also helped pressure the administration to back off its plan to draft an executive order that would give Russ Vought a veto over medical research grants.

Responding to public health threats in a bipartisan way: Murray has worked successfully for decades to fund and authorize key public health programs with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle. In recent years, bipartisan public health efforts were frequent and noncontroversial-as Ranking Member of the HELP Committee, Senator Murray co-led a bipartisan hearing on vaccine hesitancy and spoke about the importance of addressing vaccine skepticism and getting people the facts they need to keep their families and communities safe and healthy. Ahead of the hearing, as multiple states were facing measles outbreaks in under-vaccinated areas, Murray sent a bipartisan letter with former HELP Committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) pressing the CDC Director and HHS Assistant Secretary for Health on their efforts to promote vaccination and vaccine confidence. Senator Murray will continue to work to build broad-based consensus around any and all public health policies she champions.

Advancing prevention and biomedical research: As HELP Ranking Member, Senator Murray negotiated and passed the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act in 2016, which delivered a major federal investment in biomedical research and clinical trials at the FDA and NIH. In 2018, Murray negotiated and helped pass the largest legislative response to the opioid crisis to date. In 2019, as the top Senate appropriator of public health funds, Murray helped secure the first dedicated federal funding for gun violence prevention research at CDC and NIH since the Dickey Amendment was enacted in 1996.

Strengthening global health response: Senator Murray is a leading voice on global health issues, emphasizing the importance of continuing the United States' record of strong investments in global health security. Murray participated as a member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Commission following its establishment in 2018, recognizing how global health security impacts families in Washington state, across the country, and across the world. Murray has consistently fought to promote global health programs and American leadership abroad, understanding that disease does not recognize borders. In 2025, Murray was vocal in her opposition to the decimation of USAID and American-funded global health programs that not only benefit our partners around the world, but also keep Americans safe.

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