This is C.I.'s "The Snapshot" for today:
Thursday, June 11, 2026. Chump loves inflation -- even though it's killing Americans -- and continues to get beaten up in the polls, judges no longer trust the Justice Dept, Bill Gates offers closed door remarks about Jeffrey Epstein, NYT runs a column from an Epstein apologist that seeks to remake Goldman Sachs Kathy as an innocent young girl who did nothing wrong, and much more.
Greg Sargent (THE NEW REPUBLIC's THE DAILY BLAST podcast) notes:
Donald Trump faced merciless booing at the Knicks game Monday night, and Fox News figures quickly recognized how perilous this is. As Media Matters details, Fox personalties and on-air chyrons spun madly in response. They absurdly portrayed the reception as much more “mixed,” implied the booing was inspired by something other than Trump, and even claimed there was much cheering for him. One Fox figure actually insisted Trump had the support of “half the stadium.” This comes as his polls just nosedived again: A new YouGov poll has Trump’s approval on the economy and inflation in the twenties. And fresh data from The Argument shows Trump deeply underwater in numerous red states with competitive Senate races. He continues to slide in the polling averages too. We talked to Grant Wiles, a data analyst with NextGen America, which just released new research on Trump’s toxicity with young voters. We parse all the new polls, dig into why Trump propagandists fear he’s in a downward spiral, and discuss how Democrats can avoid getting too complacent about the midterms. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.
Chump's polling is flaccid. It's over for Chump. Enough Americans have awoken to reality that it's over for him. Andrew Stanton (NEWSWEEK) reports:
President Donald Trump appeared to downplay a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report finding rising inflation on Wednesday, telling reporters, “I love the inflation” in the Oval Office.
Inflation and the high cost of living remain major political issues ahead of the 2026 midterm election, particularly after the Iran war sent gas prices surging across the country. Tackling inflation was a cornerstone of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, but his approval has suffered as prices remain high.
Wednesday’s BLS report found that prices rose by 0.5 percent in May, slowed from 0.6 percent in April, while annual inflation accelerated to 4.2 percent from 3.8 percent in April. It marks the fastest year-over-year pace since April 2023.
"I love inflation," Chump hollered. Lawrence O'Donnell noted it last night.
We'll get into Epstein a little bit later in the snapshot.
From yesterday's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED (NPR):
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The government's latest cost-of-living report shows consumer prices in May were up more than 4% from this time last year. That is the biggest increase in more than three years, and Americans are feeling the effects.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
One of them is 44-year-old Jennifer Browning (ph) of Gulfport, Mississippi. She has been looking for regular employment for two years, and she's having a hard time making ends meet.
JENNIFER BROWNING: I am piecing together so much, like, gig work and then freelance work. So it's like kind of nonstop.
CHANG: Higher energy costs have been a big driver of inflation since the U.S. and Israel launched the war with Iran. Twenty-nine-year-old Aaron Corey (ph) of Phoenix, Arizona, has had to cut back on his air conditioning use.
AARON COREY: There's still, like, an hour right when I wake up when it's below 80 degrees, and so I'll open up windows and doors just to get that breeze in.
KELLY: For more on the latest inflation numbers, let's bring in NPR's Scott Horsley. Hey, Scott.
SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: So all of us who have filled up our cars' gas tanks recently know gas prices are up - way up since the war in Iran started. How is that factoring into the inflation picture?
HORSLEY: Yeah. The wartime spike in gas prices is pushing inflation in exactly the wrong direction. Overall, prices rose half a percent just between April and May, and energy prices, especially gasoline, accounted for more than 60% of that total jump.
Haley Shearer is really feeling the pinch of those high gas prices. She commutes from her home in Richfield, Minnesota, to a job in St. Paul. And Shearer says, even though her Honda Civic gets pretty good mileage, she is watching the gas gauge the whole way.
HALEY SHEARER: It could be about 30 minutes if there's traffic, and sometimes up to 45 minutes just because of summer construction. They kind of joke that Minnesota has two seasons, which is construction and winter, and we are in the full swing of construction season, unfortunately.
HORSLEY: AAA says the average price of gas nationwide is now $4.15 a gallon. It has come down a little bit in recent days, but it's still about a buck 17 more than when the war started.
He continues to sink in the polls and it's his own doing. Meanwhile, Chump and his crooks continue to tie up the legal system. Adam Lynch reports:
President Donald Trump's former campaign attorney is facing 11 counts of forgery in the state of Wisconsin for his role in the president's fake elector scheme to overthrow a legitimate U.S. election. Now the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports he wants a Wisconsin judge to let him off the hook.
Trump pardoned Jim Troupis in November for his actions related to the fake elector scheme, as the president has for many of his cohorts in the 2020 plot — but that pardon only applies to federal courts. Now Troupis, a former Dane County judge, is asking a Dane County judge to apply Trump’s get-out-of-jail-free card to the state charges.
The Sentinel reports Troupis represented Trump's Wisconsin campaign during the aftermath of the 2020 election, when Republicans in battleground states pretended to be electors for Trump in an effort to persuade then-Vice President Mike Pence to stop the certification of Biden's victory over Trump.
Trump has been quick to absolve his henchmen of consequences, but Democratic Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is apparently not so generous, having filed charges against Troupis and other architects of the fake elector scheme in 2024.
Justice has been brutalized under Chump. In "It's a shame," Ann noted:
Even judges can't trust the Chump administration. You get that, right? They've lied to judges so much in the last year and a half that judges now have to warn them, "Don't play possum with this court."
It's a shame when our judges can't trust Justice Department attorneys.
Now let's move to Chump's late friend Jeffrey Epstein. Jason Lange (REUTERS) reports:
Few Americans, including just 21% of Republicans, think President Donald Trump's administration has helped deliver justice in cases connected to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The results of the six-day poll, which closed on Monday, come as congressional investigators continue to probe the alleged crimes of Epstein, who served time in prison after pleading guilty in 2008 on prostitution charges including soliciting an underage girl. Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019.
Just 10% of respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said the Trump administration had helped efforts to hold people connected to Epstein accountable. Only one in five respondents said the alleged clients of Epstein have been held accountable.
And yet Todd Blanche wants to move on, Todd Blanche doesn't want to follow the law and release the rest of the documents. Harry Thompson (DAILY BEAST) notes:
The Epstein files are still a massive problem for President Donald Trump, a new report has revealed.
Despite the president’s desperation to move on from the scandal that has lurked behind every act of his second term, voters still think it is one of the major issues facing the U.S.
Trump’s pollster, Tony Fabrizio, circulated a memo to around a dozen top White House aides in late March, revealing that it remained the sixth-most important issue for voters. The data he used came from a focus group he had conducted that month.
According to a report in The New York Times, voters regard it as a bigger matter than military issues, crime and safety, “pro-working-class” sensibilities, and data centers.
The Epstein files were only regarded as less important than five key macro issues: inflation, the economy, foreign policy, immigration, and healthcare, the memo said.
We covered the report in yesterday's snapshot. Stephanie Kaplan (OK) covers the report below:
A New York Times report on the book claimed J.D. Vance, Kash Patel, Karoline Leavitt, Susie Wiles, Steven Cheung and then-Attorney General Pam Bondi were all present in the room or attended via speakerphone.
The article alleged the president "snapped at anyone" who discussed releasing the files, which he wanted kept secret.
"They were left to worry and plan among themselves," the report read. "The president’s refusal to acknowledge that a crisis existed, let alone that it was growing, complicated every path his team wanted to take."
[. . .]
One report came from a woman who claimed she was introduced to Trump when she was between 13 and 15.
The alleged victim said she was brought into a "very tall building with huge rooms," accusing the president of saying something "to the effect of, 'Let me teach you how little girls are supposed to be.'"
She stated Trump unzipped his pants and forced her head to his lap, which she reacted to by biting him. Trump allegedly hit her and told her to leave the room.
Alex Griffing (MEDIAITE) notes:
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) spoke to Capitol Hill reporters on Wednesday following sitting in on a closed-door Oversight Committee deposition of Bill Gates. Gates was called before Congress to testify about his ties to sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein in the ongoing House investigation into Epstein’s illicit activities, which Stansbury said will next look at Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
“We are all glad to hear that Mr. Comer has had a change of heart in making sure that Todd Blanche is brought before this committee,” Stansbury began, referring to Oversight Chair James Comer’s (R-KY) statement hours earlier that he would like to see Blanche testify before the committee in July.
“We want to make clear that he must be brought before the committee under oath in a deposition that is recorded for the American people to see, and this is separate from his confirmation process. Todd Blanche is at the heart of the cover-up of this case, as was revealed especially in the New York Times’ explosive reporting today about situation room meetings that were held in which Todd Blanche, as the president’s personal attorney and deputy AG, was working with others, including the vice president, to help try to cover up this case,” she continued, referring to Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s deep dive article from earlier in the day.
More coverage of Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan's NYT article.
Yesterday, Bill Gates spoke with the House Oversight Committee. Before that took place, MORNING EDITION (NPR) reported:
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is scheduled to appear before members of Congress today. He will take questions from the House Oversight Committee about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In February, his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, spoke to NPR's Rachel Martin about emails and other communications involving her former husband that were included in the Epstein files released by the Justice Department. She said it brought back painful times in her marriage.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
MELINDA FRENCH GATES: Whatever questions remain there of what I don't - can't even begin to know all of it, those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me.
MARTIN: NPR's Ava Berger has been covering all this. Good morning, Ava.
AVA BERGER, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: What is already known about Bill Gates' connection to Jeffrey Epstein?
BERGER: Gates is one of many wealthy and high-profile people whose name appears in the Epstein file. His name appears hundreds of times in these files that were released by the Department of Justice. There's an email that indicates that Gates at one point traveled on Epstein's private plane, and there's photos of Gates with Epstein.
What Melinda French Gates was responding to was emails in the files that Epstein appears to have sent to himself. They suggest that Bill Gates had additional affairs. He tried to get medication to treat a sexually transmitted infection and was going to give her the medicine without her knowing. His representatives have said all of that is false. And as well in an emailed statement to NPR in April, a spokesperson said Gates, quote, "never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein's illegal conduct" and, quote, "is looking forward to answering all the committee's questions to support their important work."
MARTIN: What is the committee expected to ask Gates about today?
BERGER: Representative Robert Garcia, the lead Democrat on the committee, told reporters on Tuesday he's interested in what Gates knew about Epstein and who else was in Epstein's orbit and why Gates had a relationship with Epstein after Epstein's 2008 conviction of sex crimes that involved minors. That's a notable date there. And according to the released emails, Gates met with Epstein multiple times after this conviction.
MARTIN: You know, we've seen quite a few high-profile people go to these closed-door transcribed interviews, including former Attorney General Pam Bondi last month. So what are we expecting to learn from this one?
BERGER: Right. Michel, as you said, it's closed door. So we won't know exactly what happens until the committee releases the transcript, which happens a few days later. That being said, these interviews usually last between four to five hours, and lawmakers are known to come out and give statements about what they are hearing. Survivors of Epstein's abuse say they want transparency in this investigation, like Annie Farmer. She testified in court that Epstein and his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, sexually abused her when she was 16 years old. Here's what she's hoping for today.
ANNIE FARMER: What we've seen so far is that a lot of people have taken the stance of just wanting to cover for themselves and have not offered real information. And so I think with each person that comes, there's an opportunity to do something different, and I hope that he chooses to do that.
Later yesterday, Ava Berger returned to report on NPR's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED:
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
The name Bill Gates appears hundreds of times in the Epstein files. There are photos of the Microsoft cofounder with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. So the Republican-led House Oversight Committee brought Bill Gates in for questioning today as part of their ongoing investigation into Epstein. NPR's Ava Berger was on Capitol Hill today. She is here now. Hey, Ava.
AVA BERGER, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: What did we learn from Bill Gates today?
BERGER: Well, the interview was behind closed doors. So we don't know exactly what Gates said until a transcript is released in the coming days. But he did stop and talk to reporters this morning when he arrived on Capitol Hill. He actually almost seemed relaxed, Mary Louise. He had his hands in his pockets as he walked around. But there was chaos around him. I mean, he was surrounded by police officers and his lawyers.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BILL GATES: I'm glad to be here voluntarily to testify, to help with the committee's work. I hope my testimony is helpful to the important work of the committee to find justice for the victims. Thank you.
BERGER: We also got more information because Gates released the text of his opening statement this morning. In it, he said he never witnessed or knew about any of Epstein's crimes. And lawmakers say Gates is not accused of any wrongdoing related to his association with Epstein.
KELLY: Say more about the text that he released from that opening statement. What stood out from it to you?
BERGER: Yeah, so the big takeaway from this opening statement to me was how much he said his association with Epstein revolved around money. Gates said he was introduced to Epstein in 2011 to be connected with more donors for his foundation. Remember, the Gates Foundation has given billions of dollars to support global health initiatives.
KELLY: Right.
BERGER: In the statement, Gates said that he knew Epstein had faced legal issues, but Gates said he didn't understand the extent of Epstein's crime. To be clear, in 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty for soliciting prostitution and procuring a minor for prostitution. Gates said he continued to meet with Epstein until 2014. At that point, he realized the discussions with Epstein were a, quote, "dead end" for raising money.
In other Epstein news, Kathy Ruemmler. Today, THE NEW YORK TIMES publishes a white wash of Kathy written by Ankush Khardori. Why?
He has outlets. He's pooh-pahhed Epstein at POLITICO for months now, for example. So why does THE TIMES need to share him this morning?
Rummler, I was told last Friday, would not be leaving Goldman Sachs as she had promised to do. That after June 30th, she would remain as an advisor. An advisor? She's going to groom others to work with pedophiles and tax cheats?
Ankush has written a 2,400 word column but nowhere in it does he stop to tell people this. And it's no longer whispered like it was on Friday last week. REUTERS reported on it yesterday:
U.S. Democratic lawmakers Elizabeth Warren and Raja Krishnamoorthi have flagged concerns to Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon over his reported plans to keep top lawyer Kathy Ruemmler as an adviser despite her links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Goldman’s legal officer Ruemmler resigned this year after documents published by the U.S. Justice Department showed she accepted gifts from Epstein and advised him on how to address media inquiries regarding his crimes. Her resignation will be effective June 30, a source told Reuters.
Solomon has asked her to stay at the firm as an adviser, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the report.
In the letter, U.S. Senator Warren and U.S. Representative Krishnamoorthi raised concerns that the material released by the DOJ and other reporting suggest Ruemmler maintained extensive contact with Epstein years after his conviction.
From US House Rep Raja Krishnamoorthi's website:
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services on the House Oversight Committee, and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon demanding answers regarding reports that Solomon asked Goldman Sachs Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler to remain at the bank as an “adviser” despite her resignation following mounting public scrutiny of her close personal and professional relationship with convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
In the letter, Krishnamoorthi and Warren raised concerns that newly released Department of Justice materials and reporting suggest Ruemmler maintained extensive contact with Epstein years after his conviction for soliciting a child for sex, advised him on legal and public relations strategies, accepted tens of thousands of dollars in gifts, and maintained a far more extensive relationship with Epstein than previously publicly acknowledged.
“On January 30, 2026, the DOJ released a slew of documents, images, communications, and other materials related to the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. According to reports, the documents reveal that Ruemmler and Epstein were in frequent contact between 2014 and 2019, just one year prior to her joining Goldman and long after Epstein’s conviction for soliciting a child for sex in 2008,” wrote Krishnamoorthi and Warren.
“According to reports, Ruemmler ‘educated [Epstein] on how the law differentiates between underage victims of sex crimes and adult prostitutes,’” wrote the lawmakers. “Ruemmler reportedly accepted tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from Epstein. These gifts are reported to have included a $9,350 Hermes handbag, $10,000 in Bergdorf Goodman gift cards, a Fendi coat valued at $4,200, and an Apple Watch.”
“Following the DOJ’s document release in January, Goldman Sachs has defended and supported Ruemmler publicly. In February, Ruemmler announced her resignation from Goldman Sachs, effective June 30, 2026,” wrote the lawmakers. “At the time, you stated that you ‘reluctantly’ accepted Ruemmler’s resignation. While Goldman Sachs has declined to comment on this matter, new reporting suggests that you ‘pressed’ her to reconsider her resignation and instead move to a new position within the firm.”
“The information uncovered in recent months not only raises serious questions as to whether Goldman Sachs either failed to conduct proper due diligence or viewed Ruemmler’s relationship with Epstein as appropriate when appointing her as the firm’s top lawyer, but now calls into question your professional judgment and fitness to continue leading one of the largest banks in the United States,” wrote the lawmakers.
Krishnamoorthi and Warren requested responses from Solomon by June 26 regarding Goldman Sachs’s prior knowledge of Ruemmler’s relationship with Epstein, the firm’s due diligence and defense of Ruemmler following the DOJ document release, Solomon’s reported decision to keep her at the bank, and the nature of any continued role, responsibilities, or compensation arrangement.
The letter is available here.
Ankush doesn't mention that in the sad tale he makes up for 'poor' Kathy. Why-why, Miami prosecutors -- she knew!!!! -- were overzealous! So why should she have been suspicious of a man who'd been convicted for sex with an underage girl? Why!!!! And Kenneth Starr was one of his lawyers!!!! Kenneth Starr!!!! Yeah, well Kenneth Starr being one of his attorneys should have made her immediately suspicious.
But she's just a girl, you understand. And so when she sounds friendly in all those e-mails to Jeffrey, well that's because she's a girl and girls aren't taken seriously wah wah wah so she had to talk like that, she had to!!!! She didn't know him, she didn't mean any of it!!!!
Ankush? We last noted him in the March 13th snapshot:
And Ankush is yet again protecting The Epstein Class. He's yet again providing excuses and justifications. There's no reason for THE TIMES to have published this guest column -- again, he writes for POLITICO -- but to have published it in full? Over 2,000 words?
It's nothing but an excuse for Kathy. It doesn't address reality -- either during Epstein's life or after -- and it offers all these little excuses that are meaningless.
She was not a "girl." She was a grown woman with government experience when she joined Goldman Sachs. She took gifts from Epstein. That's not undone by the fact that she took gifts from other clients. She also helped him. With regard to accusers, she helped him.
Let's drop back to the February 13th snapshot:
Rob Copeland, Maureen Farrell, Lauren Hirsch and Duy Nguyen (NEW YORK TIMES) explain:
She educated him on how the law differentiates between underage victims of sex crimes and adult prostitutes. “I think the point is that if she was underage, she could not legally consent to engaging in prostitution,” Ms. Ruemmler wrote to Mr. Epstein in 2015.
She offered advice on how to knock down the credibility of one of his accusers, writing in one email that Mr. Epstein’s lawyer could push the woman into a “perjury trap.”
Ms. Ruemmler signed some emails “xoxo” and swapped photos. She joked with Mr. Epstein about the weight of visitors at New Jersey rest stops and speculated about the sexual orientation of a well-known hedge fund billionaire.
And over a series of meetings, she sought his advice on personal and professional matters, (“men aren’t interested in women my age,” one email lamented).
In 2019, while interviewing for the job at Goldman, Ms. Ruemmler told Mr. Epstein that she was wearing gifts from him. “Am totally tricked out by Uncle Jeffrey today!” she wrote.
She lied about her relationship with Epstein. But let's grasp that she knew what she was doing. She knew she was lying about her relationship with Epstein. But she also knew what he was doing. Note this paragraph again:
She educated him on how the law differentiates between underage victims of sex crimes and adult prostitutes. “I think the point is that if she was underage, she could not legally consent to engaging in prostitution,” Ms. Ruemmler wrote to Mr. Epstein in 2015.
Wow. What a concerned and moral authority the woman was. Ruemmler was advising a man convicted of child prostitution "on how the law differentiates between underage victims of sex crimes and adult prostitution." She wrote, "I think the point is that if she was underage, she could not legally consent to engaging in prostitution."
I'm sorry, that doesn't fit with the fantasy, the 2,000 plus word fantasy, Ankush carves out for Kathy.
Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:
Senators: “As our country prepares to welcome international travelers from around the globe at the World Cup, it is imperative that we have clear, comprehensive plans and communications to manage public health risks. We urge you to act swiftly to fill all necessary vacant public health positions; create a concrete, transparent, and compassionate plan for treating exposed Americans; and increase communication to the public.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Senator
Tim Kaine (D-VA), led their colleagues in sending a letter
to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy, Jr., calling on him to reverse HHS actions that have weakened
the United States’ public health infrastructure and threatened response
to global health outbreaks. The senators’ letter follows an abnormal
hantavirus outbreak, and a growing Ebola epidemic.
The senators
slam the Trump administration for its anti-science agenda, haphazard
slashing of vital health and research programs, and failed—often
absent—leadership. The senators also further detail how critical it is
that HHS continue to fund infectious disease research and develop better
diagnostics and treatments to remain a world leader in combatting
health threats. The Senators warn Secretary Kennedy to take ongoing
public health threats seriously and put forward concrete solutions to
protect the health and safety of the American people.
The senators began by highlighting how the Trump administration has cut thousands of public health experts and weakened response to global public health emergencies, “Under your leadership, this administration has fired and forced out thousands of employees across the Department and is at 20% reduced capacity as compared to the beginning of this administration. These cuts span our most valuable public health agencies, including but not limited to 3,500 full-time employees at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 3,400 at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and 4,600 at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). That’s nearly 20,000 public servants who have dedicated their lives and careers to conducting research to find treatments and cures for life threatening diseases, monitoring and responding to public health threats, and ensuring the safety and effectiveness of medicines and vaccines.”
“Of the 18 Senate-confirmed positions at HHS, only six have confirmed personnel serving in those roles. Notably, several of the most important agencies needed to combat global health outbreaks, CDC, FDA, and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), are missing permanent leadership. In addition, we do not have a Senate-confirmed U.S. Surgeon General,” the senators continued, detailing how the administration has created dysfunction by failing to install critical leadership. “At least eight of the top 10 officials at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the agency responsible for researching ways to better prevent and treat infectious diseases, are no longer in their positions. This includes the Institute’s director, its top allergy and immunology scientist, and the microbiology and infectious disease director. These vacancies would be worrisome in the best of times, but in the midst of a global health emergency, they are particularly alarming.”
“President Trump’s withdrawal from the WHO has profoundly undermined the Ebola response, leading to severe shortages of personal protective equipment, disruptions in contact tracing efforts, and delayed response times that have allowed the virus to spread,” the senators further wrote how the administration’s global health policies threaten lives of Americans abroad. “Because it is a rare and distinct strain of Ebola, existing licensed vaccines and monoclonal antibodies do not offer reliable protection. But instead of boosting our arsenal of state-of-the-art vaccines and treatments, your endless anti-vaccine crusade cuts off our best chances for quickly developing medical countermeasures to keep Americans safe from the potential spread of Bundibugyo ebolavirus or other dangerous pathogens.”
The senators emphasized that with the administration slowing drug development and innovation, they are derailing American leadership in research and innovation, “Your decision to summarily defund mRNA vaccine technology abruptly terminated 22 promising projects that were designed to develop vaccines against respiratory and viral threats. Infectious disease experts described it as the United States turning its back on one of the most promising tools to fight the next pandemic. Meanwhile, over the last year, scientists from China have developed a new broad-spectrum mRNA vaccine that could provide long-term protection to the most lethal family of Ebola viruses, including the Bundibugyo strain behind the current outbreak in the DRC.”
“As our country prepares to welcome international travelers from around the globe at the World Cup, it is imperative that we have clear, comprehensive plans and communications to manage public health risks. We urge you to act swiftly to fill all necessary vacant public health positions; create a concrete, transparent, and compassionate plan for treating exposed Americans; and increase communication to the public,” the senators conclude.
In addition to Murray and Kaine, the letter is cosigned by U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), and John Hickenlooper (D-CO).
The full letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Secretary Kennedy,
We write to express serious concern with the Trump administration’s actions that have decimated our Nation’s public health infrastructure and ability to quickly identify and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. With Ebola and hantavirus emerging as global health threats, it is imperative that our country’s health agencies are fully staffed and led by experts equipped to safeguard the American people. It is also critical that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) invests in innovative infectious disease research and advanced research and development to design better diagnostics, treatments, and novel medical countermeasures to combat emerging health threats. The lack of leadership, programmatic cuts, and anti-science agenda of this administration has hampered the world’s ability to respond to global health threats and puts American lives at risk.
Under your leadership, this administration has fired and forced out thousands of employees across the Department and is at 20% reduced capacity as compared to the beginning of this administration. These cuts span our most valuable public health agencies, including but not limited to 3,500 full-time employees at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 3,400 at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and 4,600 at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). That’s nearly 20,000 public servants who have dedicated their lives and careers to conducting research to find treatments and cures for life threatening diseases, monitoring and responding to public health threats, and ensuring the safety and effectiveness of medicines and vaccines. On top of this, the administration has terminated critical public health funding here at home while dismantling important public health infrastructure abroad. These cuts directly impact our ability to respond to, and address, global public health emergencies.
This administration has not only dismissed thousands of dedicated career employees; it has also failed to provide consistent, effective leadership at our public health agencies. Of the 18 Senate-confirmed positions at HHS, only six have confirmed personnel serving in those roles. Notably, several of the most important agencies needed to combat global health outbreaks, CDC, FDA, and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), are missing permanent leadership. In addition, we do not have a Senate-confirmed U.S. Surgeon General.
These vacancies extend beyond executive leadership positions. Of NIH’s 27 Institutes and Centers, 16 have acting directors, and the leadership gaps don’t end there. At least eight of the top 10 officials at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the agency responsible for researching ways to better prevent and treat infectious diseases, are no longer in their positions. This includes the Institute’s director, its top allergy and immunology scientist, and the microbiology and infectious disease director. These vacancies would be worrisome in the best of times, but in the midst of a global health emergency, they are particularly alarming.
Without a Senate-confirmed CDC Director, Dr. Bhattacharya, who also serves as the NIH Director, is currently performing the delegable duties of the CDC Director, splitting his time across two vital agencies. To make matters worse, the CDC’s Principal Deputy Director, the Deputy Director for Program and Science/Chief Medical Officer, and the Chief Operating Officer are all vacant, and of the 12 CDC Centers, only seven have a permanent director. CDC’s diminished capacity has resulted in limited resources for situations like global health outbreaks. CDC has lost hundreds of experts including those who work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These vacancies have left critical gaps in preparedness and demonstrate that we urgently need a fully coordinated, nationwide public health strategy instead of an ad-hoc response.
The FDA has also experienced recent leadership upheaval, and it is now led by an Acting Commissioner who does not have expertise in the agency’s medical products. There is no Principal Deputy Commissioner, and the Chief of Staff and the majority of center directors are serving in acting capacities. ASPR leads the nation’s medical and public health preparedness for, response to, and recovery from disasters and other public health emergencies. This division is incredibly important as we determine how to address risks like hantavirus and Ebola. At no point in President Trump’s second administration has ASPR had a Senate-confirmed leader. The lack of leadership at the very agencies responsible for defending Americans against infectious disease threats is an egregious failure of responsibility.
In April, we saw a deadly outbreak of the Andes strain of hantavirus that put dozens of Americans at risk, many of whom are still in quarantine. And now the world is experiencing the third largest Ebola outbreak in history. On Saturday, May 16, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak in DRC a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), indicating that the outbreak requires coordination among countries given its risk of international spread. President Trump’s withdrawal from the WHO has profoundly undermined the Ebola response, leading to severe shortages of personal protective equipment, disruptions in contact tracing efforts, and delayed response times that have allowed the virus to spread.
It was recently reported that the Trump administration is prohibiting U.S. citizens who have been exposed to Ebola from re-entering the U.S. despite the U.S. having specialized capacity to treat people with suspected Ebola in the U.S. The administration has already sent an American aid worker with Ebola and his family to Germany instead of bringing them back to the U.S. to receive care. In a stark departure from how previous administrations have responded to Ebola outbreaks, the Trump administration planned to establish a field hospital in Kenya for U.S. citizens who have been exposed. However, on May 29, a court in Kenya suspended the plan to create such a facility. The administration has been reticent about sharing these plans, and the ambiguity only causes more stress and confusion for Americans exposed to Ebola and their loved ones. President Trump has made it clear that he is not concerned about Americans serving abroad, going as far to say during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, “People that go to far away places to help out are great-but must suffer the consequences!”
On Monday, May 18, the CDC invoked the authority commonly referred to as “Title 42” – a public health law that restricts entry into the U.S. for non-citizens during outbreaks of communicable diseases – for at least 30 days. The order was expanded to include lawful permanent residents on May 22, without clear justification for such expansion. These actions are in contrast to the WHO recommendations to enhance surveillance and reporting, but not close borders, reminding countries that such measures are usually implemented out of fear without basis in science.
In addition to the Trump administration’s actions to cut global health programs and foreign aid, the response faces further challenges as there are currently no approved vaccines or other medical countermeasures available to protect against or treat the Bundibugyo ebolavirus. Because it is a rare and distinct strain of Ebola, existing licensed vaccines and monoclonal antibodies do not offer reliable protection. But instead of boosting our arsenal of state-of-the-art vaccines and treatments, your endless anti-vaccine crusade cuts off our best chances for quickly developing medical countermeasures to keep Americans safe from the potential spread of Bundibugyo ebolavirus or other dangerous pathogens.
Under your leadership, ASPR cancelled half a billion dollars in promising Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) mRNA vaccine development contracts that would have made us better prepared to fight infectious disease outbreaks like this. These funds were canceled because you falsely claimed that “mRNA technology poses more risks than benefits.” During Senate Appropriations hearings on the FY27 HHS budget this spring, you continued to purport falsehoods about mRNA vaccines, claiming that they are ineffective. Doctors and health experts have criticized your longstanding questioning of the safety and efficacy of vaccines, which have put millions of American lives – especially children’s lives – in danger. Your decision to summarily defund mRNA vaccine technology abruptly terminated 22 promising projects that were designed to develop vaccines against respiratory and viral threats. Infectious disease experts described it as the United States turning its back on one of the most promising tools to fight the next pandemic.
Meanwhile, over the last year, scientists from China have developed a new broad-spectrum mRNA vaccine that could provide long-term protection to the most lethal family of Ebola viruses, including the Bundibugyo strain behind the current outbreak in the DRC. The Chinese vaccine is showing promising results in animal studies, with 100% survival, strong viral clearance, and long-lasting protection. Soon, because of your actions, we may be faced with a situation where the most effective vaccines for infectious diseases are developed and produced in China.
Now, Americans around the world are left without a trusted source of information and leadership in the midst of multiple global disease outbreaks. After 18 months of deliberate misinformation and sowing distrust in public health, this administration lacks credibility in managing our Nation’s public health preparedness and the safety of Americans at home and abroad. Further, as our country prepares to welcome international travelers from around the globe at the World Cup, it is imperative that we have clear, comprehensive plans and communications to manage public health risks. We urge you to act swiftly to fill all necessary vacant public health positions; create a concrete, transparent, and compassionate plan for treating exposed Americans; and increase communication to the public.
In light of our concerns, we ask that you please respond to the following questions by June 23, 2026.
1. Please explain the public health rationale for the administration departing from precedent by deciding to send Americans who have been exposed to Ebola to foreign nations, such as Kenya and Germany, as opposed to bringing them back to the U.S.
2. Please explain why the U.S. quarantine facilities, which have recently been used to monitor hantavirus-exposed patients and were established during the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, are inadequate or incapable of serving the same function for Ebola-exposed patients.
3. With the Kenyan High Court currently barring the establishment of a field hospital for Americans, how does the administration plan to observe and treat Americans abroad?
4. Please provide a detailed plan of who at CDC is working on Ebola and how the agency will continue to respond.
5. Please provide a list of all vacant leadership positions by agency across HHS, as well as a detailed plan of how and when you will fill those vacant positions.
6. Please provide a list of medical countermeasures (MCMs) that HHS has identified could potentially be used to protect against or as a treatment for the Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
a. Indicate which MCMs are currently or were previously being researched or undergoing development by any HHS agency, the awarding agency, and a description of each. Such description shall include any previous or current HHS-funded awards, the awarded institution or organization, and the total funding obligated, including for any terminated grants or contracts.
b. For any MCMs against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus that are not under development by HHS-funded R&D but are being developed by private partners or other nations, please describe the technology being used, the stage of development and any pre-clinical or clinical trial results, and justification for why HHS is not making similar investments.
Sincerely,
###
The following sites -- plus Ruth's "The cover up is worse than the original crime," Ann's "It's a shame," Rebecca's "erika embarrassing kirk (and general hospital)," Betty's "Pete Hegseth is a monster" and Stan's "CAPE FEAR disappoints" -- updated:
