This piece first appeared in our weekly newsletter, Executive Dysfunction. Subscribe here.

The White House’s attacks on mental health care are exacerbating a youth mental health crisis already raging across the U.S. As Rainesford Stauffer reported for Rewire News Group, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s skepticism of the medications used to treat depression, anxiety, and ADHD has some college students concerned they could lose access to the drugs that allow them to live, study, and feel like themselves.

Federal funding cuts to the 988 suicide hotline and programs that help schools hire counselors and social workers are also on the chopping block, even as Republicans attempt to gut Medicaid and SNAP in their “big, beautiful” budget bill. As a result, young people at campuses across the U.S. told RNG they fear for the future of their access to mental health care, eating disorder recovery, and therapy.

“This is such a deeply unsettling and stressful time to be living through,” Devika Bhushan, a pediatrician and public health leader who serves as an adjunct professor at Stanford University, told Stauffer. Read her story here.

Pro-democracy wins

• Children ages 6 to 17 should receive routine Covid vaccines as outlined on the standard vaccine schedule in consultation with their doctor or other health-care provider, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on May 30, according to the New York Times. The guidance defies Kennedy’s statement days prior that the CDC, which is part of his Health and Human Services agency, would no longer recommend Covid vaccination to healthy pregnant women and children. On May 20, the Food and Drug Administration said it will limit Covid boosters to people 65 years or older and those at risk of serious illness.
• A federal judge halted the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students (though the Harvard Crimson reported the administration may try to take a longer path to achieving the same goal).
• NPR (along with three other public radio stations) and PBS have each sued the Trump administration over its attempt to cut federal funding from their networks. NPR receives approximately 1% of its operating budget from federal funds, but 30% comes from member stations, which in turn receive a chunk of funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS’ parent company. PBS receives about 15% of its revenue from federal funds.

Anti-democratic actions

• Trump pardoned numerous supporters convicted of tax fraud and other corruption—including, most recently, reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley of Chrisley Knows Best fame.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the State Department will “aggressively” revoke Chinese students’ visas, NBC News reported. The State Department has already cancelled thousands of student visas in dozens of states, and has specifically targeted international students who participate in pro-Palestine protest activity.

Reproductive rights

• Two of Donald Trump’s nominees to the federal judiciary, Joshua Divine and Maria Lanahan, co-authored Missouri’s lawsuit against mifepristone, one of two drugs commonly used in medication abortions, HuffPost reported. Federal judges serve lifetime appointments.

LGBTQ+ rights

• On May 28, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, a surgeon who became famous as a regular contributor on The Oprah Winfrey Show, sent letters to hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to children asking for data on their care standards and finances. It’s the latest in the administration’s moves to question evidence for gender-affirming care, the Hill reported.
• Trump on May 27 threatened to withhold federal funding from California if the state allowed a transgender athlete to compete in a state final, seemingly referring to a 16-year-old track and field athlete. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in March that it is “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to compete on girls’ sports teams. Ultimately, the teen was allowed to compete and shared the first-place high jump podium with two other girls, among other accolades.
• Republicans’ “big, beautiful” budget bill would prevent Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act from covering gender-affirming care for transgender people, regardless of age. The bill passed the House on May 22 and now faces the Senate, where it is still being negotiated.

DOGE

• “Special government employee” Elon Musk, who led the Department of Government Efficiency—which is not an official government agency—said he left the White House on May 28, though Trump has since said Musk is “not really leaving.” DOGE will continue to operate, NBC News reported.

Immigration

• The Supreme Court ruled on May 30 that the Trump administration could revoke the legal status of more than 500,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who had been given humanitarian parole and temporary permission to live and work in the U.S. under former President Joe Biden, NBC News reported. The humanitarian parole status was granted because of emergencies, instability, violence, and political repression, according to Al Jazeera. They may apply for asylum, but they also could be deported.
• The White House’s attempt to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and legal resident who was detained by ICE for his pro-Palestinian activism, is likely unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled on May 28. However, as POLITICO reported, the judge said Khalil must provide further legal arguments to secure his release.

Health and science

• The Trump administration said that Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” report would be corrected. NOTUS reporting found that the federal government document–which looked at the country’s food supply, prescription drugs, and pesticides and called for heavier review of childhood vaccine schedules–was full of errors, including the citation of studies that don’t exist.
• In a similar vein, Kennedy cited a widely-condemned study that was neither peer reviewed nor published in a medical journal to order a review of mifepristone, an abortion pill. Rewire News Group spoke to OB-GYNs for this explainer on the safety of mifepristone, how it’s used for medication abortions, and when patients should seek follow-up care after using it. (TL;DR: Mifepristone is very safe and effective.)
• The White House on May 28 cancelled $776 million to drug manufacturer Moderna for vaccine development against future pandemics, including bird flu, NBC News reported.

Recommended reading

By now, you’ve probably heard of the horrifying case of Adriana Smith, a brain-dead Georgia woman who’s being kept on life support to deliver her fetus, which was nine weeks old at the time of her death. The kicker? Her family said it has to pay for her care, despite not having a choice in her fate, and are now raising money on GoFundMe. RNG Co-Chief Content Officer Imani Gandy makes the case that the state should have to pay for Smith’s continued care.

Unwind

Each morning, I make a point of checking the Instagram or TikTok account @simonsits for a daily update on the very brave foster pup, Tiki. Isabel Klee, the creator behind @simonsits, has, for more than a month now, documented the journey of her foster dog Tiki, who came to her through the ASPCA and New York City-based dog rescue Muddy Paws. When she first brought him home, he was shut down and barely left his crate. Slowly, Tiki began opening up—after one week, he left the surrounding area of his crate; 13 days in, he approached Klee for pets; on day 29, Tiki stepped out onto the grass of Klee’s backyard. He’s gone from a “ fearful, shut-down” pup to an “extremely brave, inspiring” little foster dog, and now, just over a month into his time in foster care, Klee indicated he will be available for adoption soon. I, for one, am so proud of Tiki! You can follow his and Klee’s journey here. (Personal note: I adopted my dog Tuey from Muddy Paws Rescue, the organization through which Klee fosters Tiki, a couple of years ago.)