THE BRAINWORM WILL SEE YOU

RFK Jr., the nation’s top health official, warned the country not to take medical advice from him. Thanks for the heads up, Bobby!

• Fresh from fully submerging his entire body in sewage-infested waters, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his dead brainworm rolled up to Capitol Hill for a little Q&A this morning. His task: Convince lawmakers to fund his department’s budget for next year — an easy mission, considering GOP lawmakers’ thirsty servitude to President Donald Trump’s loopiest whims.

• But Kennedy faced tough questions from frustrated Democrats. This is, after all, a guy who helped lead the anti-vax movement and falsely claimed that the measles vaccine contains “aborted fetus debris.” Would he vaccinate his own children today against measles, polio and chicken pox? “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me,” he said. “My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant.” Irrelevant? You’d think a frantic aide would urgently whisper in his ear to remind him he’s literally the guy in charge of U.S. health policy. But that didn’t happen.

• The vaccine question wasn’t meant to be a “stumper,” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) told What A Day afterwards. “I’ll be honest, it was done in a very innocent way. I thought, because he’s vaccinated his kids, he would simply say, ‘yes,’ and that would alleviate some fears,” Pocan said in a phone call. “But instead, he couldn’t answer the question which, again, I did not expect … it was just a bit more perplexing.”

The vaccine question also happens to be extremely “relevant” to this country’s current health threats.

• The U.S. is facing its worst measles outbreak in 30 years, with more than 1,000 cases confirmed. Three people have already died, including two unvaccinated kids in Texas. And public health experts warn the outbreak will keep getting worse due to falling vaccination rates and service cuts. Kennedy’s refusal to encourage children to be vaccinated “is a tragedy,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said at the hearing. (The measles vaccine is 97 percent effective.)

• Doktor Brainwürm’s team doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, either. There’s NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who won’t rule out the conspiracy that vaccines cause autism. Casey Means, Trump’s pick for surgeon general, isn’t a practicing physician — but she does love magic mushrooms, talking to trees, and worshipping the moon. And don’t forget Dr. Oz, the TV personality in charge of Medicare and Medicaid Services, who used to promote bogus weight loss supplements on his show (and famously thinks that veggie plates pair well with tequila).

• “If we shouldn’t take his advice, why is he the head of HHS, overseeing all of the people whose advice we (theoretically) should be taking?” a senior HHS employee texted me. “What makes me crazy is that no one can tell you what MAHA is. Because there is no ‘MAHA’ policy written down anywhere. It doesn’t exist,” the employee added. “Within his own team, there is no MAHA policy. It’s more of a state of mind.”

During my call with Pocan, I wondered: Were his Republican colleagues equally stunned by Kennedy’s bizarre remarks, even if they won’t admit it? “I mean, that’s just being a Republican these days, right?” Pocan said. “You privately express more concerns, but you would never say it publicly.”

FAMILY FIRST

The Trump administration struck a deal with El Chapo’s son to let his family into the United States.

Seventeen family members of Ovidio Guzman Lopez — one of the brothers left running part of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman’s notorious cartel — crossed the border from Tijuana last week.

It was part of a deal between Trump and Guzman Lopez, who was extradited to the U.S. two years ago, Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed. He believes the former cartel boss could be cooperating with the U.S. against other criminal organizations.

“It is evident that his family is going to the U.S. because of a negotiation or an offer that the Department of Justice is giving him,” Garcia Harfuch said in a radio interview.

This deal went down while the Trump administration continues to push its radical deportation policy. So far, that has involved plainclothes officers taking people off the street and throwing them in jail, flying scores of innocent migrants to an El Salvador megaprison, and deporting children.

Upon returning to the U.S. from a family trip abroad, Hasan Piker, a leftist political commentator, was recently detained at the border and questioned about his views. After questioning, an agent provided Piker with instructions on how to avoid being detained again.

“Considering that the entire interrogation revolved around protected speech and my opinions, I felt a little weird about that,” Piker told Crooked’s Jon Favreau on the Pod Save America YouTube channel. “What do you mean if I don’t want to be stopped again, I just have to never talk about my opinions on Trump? … Like, it’s ridiculous.”

NEWS NEWS NEWS

Donald Trump met with Ahmed al-Shara, a militant leader now in charge of Syria, after announcing the U.S. would lift sanctions on the country. During the meeting — the first time in 25 years leaders from the two countries have met — Trump urged al-Sharaa to sign onto the Abraham Accords, a normalization deal between Israel and Arab countries.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 70 people in Gaza overnight, including 22 children, local health officials said. The attack came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there’s “no way” he would stop the offensive until Hamas is defeated.

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to weaken Biden-era rules that limit exposure to “forever chemicals” in drinking water. Some 158 million Americans are exposed to the chemicals in their drinking water, the agency estimates. They’re linked to cancer, high cholesterol, birth defects and numerous other health issues. Making America Healthy Again is going great!

Trump’s plan to slash trillions in taxes for corporations, households and small businesses moved closer to becoming law after a late night party-line vote. The bill will soon head to the House floor for a vote. Democrats argue the bill would disproportionately benefit the richest Americans: “This isn’t about growth or economic prosperity, it’s about protecting the ultra-wealthy,” Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) said. “It’s a tax cut for billionaires.”

The super luxury jumbo jet Trump is expected to receive from Qatar is worth more than 100 times every gift an American president has received from a foreign nation combined since 2001, according to Axios. It’s hard to visualize how much money that is, so take a look at this mind-boggling chart.

Republicans and Democrats are coming together to resist Trump’s takeover of the Library of Congress, where he ousted the librarian and is trying to replace her with Todd Blanche, his personal defense attorney. Congress wants to retain their control over the library, as is outlined in the constitution. “It’s the Library of Congress, not the library of the executive branch,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters.

Democrats are pissed about Rep. Shri Thanedar’s (D-MI) move to seek a vote on impeaching Trump. The vote is doomed in the GOP-controlled House, and it could force Democrats in battleground areas (who need to win over Trump voters) to make a hard decision, lawmakers argue. “It’s completely unhelpful,” said Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.). “I think it’s crazy.”

Erik and Lyle Menendez are eligible for parole after their resentencing. It’s a huge sign of hope for the brothers, who were sentenced to life in prison in 1989 for the killing of their parents. Fresh evidence revealed that the brothers had faced sexual abuse at the time, and family members have since forgiven them for the murders. “I’m not saying they should be released; it’s not for me to decide,” a Los Angeles county judge said during the resentencing. “I do believe they’ve done enough in the past 35 years that they should get that chance.”

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