2025 Federal Politics Recap: Trump’s Return Sparks Sweeping Changes
In 2025, President Donald J. Trump’s second term began with an unprecedented wave of executive action, signing 225 orders in a record-breaking push to reshape federal policy. Below are our highlights of our 2025 federal politics coverage. Trump signs order to reschedule marijuana for medical use On December 18, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed […]
Brown co-leads lawsuit against HHS over gender-affirming restrictions for minors
SEATTLE—Attorney General Nick Brown is co-leading a federal lawsuit with Oregon and New York of 20 states and the District of Columbia challenging a declaration by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. that deems certain gender-affirming care for minors unsafe and ineffective, threatening to bar providers from participating […]
HHS declares Public Health Emergency in Washington amid historic flooding
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared a public health emergency for Washington state on Christmas Eve, aiming to ease health care access amid devastating storms, high winds, flooding, landslides and mudslides that have battered the region. The move follows President Donald J Trump’s approval of an emergency declaration earlier this […]
Trump signs order to reschedule marijuana for medical use
WASHINGTON, D.C.—President Donald J Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing federal agencies to expedite the rescheduling of marijuana to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, a move aimed at removing longstanding barriers to research on its medical uses and providing better guidance for patients and doctors dealing with chronic pain and other conditions. […]
Hospitals performing gender-affirming care on children to lose Medicare and Medicaid funding
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced it will terminate Medicare and Medicaid to any hospital that performs sex-rejecting procedures on minors, taking action to remove gender dysphoria as a disability, and sending “warning letters” to breast binder manufacturers. HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced a series of […]
CA, OR, and WA form new West Coast Health Alliance to counter Trump’s CDC overhaul
OLYMPIA — In a move to counter the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines coming from the Trump administration, the governors of Washington, California, and Oregon will be launching a new upcoming West Coast Health Alliance. Joint statement from Governors Gavin Newsom, Tina Kotek, and Bob Ferguson: “President Trump’s mass firing of CDC […]
