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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is going dark, along with other federal agencies within the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This week, the returning Trump administration told these agencies to stop talking to the public—for how long, no one knows.
The Washington Post first broke news of Trump’s sweeping directive late Tuesday evening. Staff at these agencies have been reportedly ordered to cease external communication for the time being. The move is the latest to unnerve outside experts about the direction of the country’s public health infrastructure under Trump.
The order was delivered by Stefanie Spear, a newly hired deputy chief of staff at HHS, according to the Post. Spear was the press secretary for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during his 2024 presidential campaign, who has since been nominated by Trump to lead HHS. Affected staff told the Post that the directive lacked specific details, including the reasoning behind it, how long the pause is expected to last, and whether there are any exceptions allowed.
Gizmodo reached out to the HHS for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.
It’s certainly possible that the White House is simply trying to make it easier for its new health officials to transition into their roles. And this isn’t an unprecedented action for the White House to take to accomplish that, according to Carmen Marsit, executive associate dean at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.
“It is not uncommon for a new administration to ask for a pause on communications, website updates, etc, in order for new leadership to review the information, understand how information flows, and then work to continue communications,” Marsit told Gizmodo in an email. At the same time, he added, the scope of this directive is currently unknown, as is its potential impact on the public.
Emerging outbreaks, new discoveries, and noteworthy drug approvals are just some of the many things that agencies like the CDC and FDA regularly communicate to the general public and clinicians. Research led by or conducted with the help of government scientists is also routinely published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), which has often served as an early look into important health trends and crises (the first reported cases of what came to be known as HIV/AIDS, for instance). According to the Post, CDC staff were planning to publish several reports in the MMWR this week, including three concerning H5N1—a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza that has increasingly started to infect cattle, other mammals, and humans since last year.
Halting communication from federal health agencies like the CDC, NIH, and FDA during an administration transition is highly problematic, especially with active public health threats like the H5N1 outbreak in the U.S. and the Marburg outbreak in Tanzania, according to Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease physician in Dallas with experience in global health and pandemic preparedness.
“A blanket suspension of external communication from health agencies is unusual and potentially harmful,” Kuppalli told Gizmodo. “Trust in institutions like the CDC is built on transparency and reliability. A lack of communication could lead to skepticism or distrust, making it harder to re-establish credibility when communication resumes.”
There’s also past history to consider, as the Trump-led White House has a track record of muzzling its federal agencies and scientists. In the early days of Trump’s first term, the administration similarly ordered several agencies, including the United States Department of Agriculture, to temporarily stay quiet (much of this directive was quickly revised, however). More worryingly, the Trump administration prevented health officials from communicating with the press and public in the early months of the covid-19 pandemic, while his staff reportedly later tried to alter reports from the CDC concerning covid-19—allegedly with the goal of downplaying the harms of the pandemic.
The potential next leader of HHS, RFK Jr., has also made it clear that he wants to dramatically change the direction of the country’s public health agencies, and likely not for the better. RFK Jr. has regularly espoused false or misleading statements about vaccines and other health-related topics, for instance, and he’s promised to suspend government-led research on infectious diseases if given the chance. And earlier this week, Trump signed an executive order reinstating his plan to have the U.S. leave the World Health Organization, which has played a vital role in supporting public health globally.
“The CDC collaborates with international partners to tackle global health challenges,” noted Kuppalli, who has previously worked with the WHO as a medical officer on covid-19. “The planned withdrawal from WHO already has implications for the U.S.’ role in Global Health, but a communication freeze could further undermine the U.S.’s reputation as a leader in public health.”
Should this pause linger on, it may be an early indication that the CDC and other agencies will face new challenges from the Trump administration that might prevent them from communicating honestly with the public. And that’s likely to bode very badly for the rest of us.
“While it is the prerogative of any administration to align federal agencies with their vision and goals, public health must remain a nonpartisan priority,”Kuppalli said. “Ensuring continuity of communication from agencies like the CDC, FDA and NIH during transitional periods is not only wise but essential for safeguarding the health and well-being of the public.”
