A letter signed by 85 members of Congress has been sent to President Trump, expressing concerns about the communications freeze ordered for public health agencies, especially in light of the ongoing highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1) outbreak.
On January 21, 2025, the day after President Trump was inaugurated, federal public health agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), received orders from the new administration to pause all external communications until further notice. A memo sent to HHS agencies said that all external documents and communications—including regulations, guidance, notices, social media, website updates, and press releases—must be reviewed and approved by a presidential appointee before issuing them. Additionally, HHS employees were told they could not participate in public speaking engagements without approval, and that employees must also coordinate with presidential appointees before issuing correspondence to members of Congress or governors.
Although the communications freeze was said to be temporary, only very limited communications have since resumed from FDA and CDC, such as outbreak investigation notices and safety advisories.
The letter to President Trump from Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and 84 other Democratic Congresspeople suggests that the “gag order” is putting public health at risk by impeding federal agencies’ ability to respond to the ongoing HPAI H5N1 outbreak infecting U.S. poultry, dairy cattle, and humans.
“Your administration’s gag order pausing external health communications from federal health agencies, and limitation of cross-agency calls and collaboration to share information regarding this outbreak has significantly hampered response efforts to prevent the spread of the H5N1 [virus],” the letter states. “Viruses will not wait for this administration to lift its gag order or for agencies to restart their collaboration and information-sharing before they spread or mutate. It is clear that these interfering short-sighted actions by your administration will cause significant harm. This interference must end.”
“Since the announcement of the gag order, some reports have been withheld and/or subject to a delayed release schedule, raising concerns that information is being improperly bottlenecked or—even worse—withheld for inappropriate purposes,” the letter continues, and asks President Trump to allow the free flow of all information and scientific studies on bird flu. “As USDA monitors cattle and poultry, FDA monitors milk, and CDC monitors human virus cases, will your administration commit to continuing cross-agency calls and collaboration on bird flu? The most effective way to cut through agency bureaucracy, which you claim to be in favor of, would be to increase agency communication with Congress, stakeholders, and the public.” (It is worth noting that USDA does not fall under HHS and therefore is not subject to the HHS-specific communications freeze).
The letter also addressed the fact that, among the thousands of layoffs at federal agencies initiated by the presidential administration in February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that it fired several agency employees working on the federal response to H5N1. “The administration ‘prioritizing’ their bird flu response and firing of federal employees actively working on this worsening outbreak cannot both coexist,” the letter said. According to multiple sources, after the storm of firings, USDA and FDA have been working to re-hire some employees responsible for avian flu response and food safety oversight.
Finally, the letter asks President Trump to commit to working with the five remaining states that are not yet engaged in the National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS) to onboard them and increase H5N1 surveillance. NMTS is an effort headed by USDA that requires testing of raw milk samples for H5N1, as well as the sharing of positive test results and epidemiological information for herds with infected cattle.
Update, February 26, 2025: USDA has announced the availability of financial investments to combat HPAI H5N1 outbreak, including $500 million for farm biosecurity and $100 million for the development of chicken vaccines and other therapeutics.
