*This blog post is current as of Tuesday, January 28, at 5:40 p.m. ET.
With 2025 underway, there has been a flurry of activity in federal policy with the potential to shape the landscape of women’s health in significant ways. SWHR is closely monitoring these developments, paying particular attention to congressional committee assignments, activity around executive orders, and policymakers’ stated priorities for 2025 and beyond.
The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) has recapped here key federal policy changes since the beginning of the year that may impact women’s health research and, where relevant, offered insights into their implications for advancing the health of women and addressing longstanding disparities in the field.
CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
The 119th Congress has ushered in new congressional committee assignments, with key leadership changes and new members taking on influential roles within committees that have oversight over the nation’s public health and science agencies.
Notable changes to congressional committee leadership include Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) being named vice chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS); Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) becoming ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS); and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) assuming the role of chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), succeeding Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is now serving as ranking member.
Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) will continue serving in their roles as chair and ranking member, respectively, of the House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, and Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) will remain chair of the CJS Appropriations Subcommittee. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) and Rep. DeLauro will maintain their positions as chair and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, and with Republicans now holding the majority in the Senate, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) now serves as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) serving as ranking member.
A list of Senate Republican Committee assignments can be found here, and Senate Democratic Committee assignments can be found here.
FEDERAL LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS
While the U.S. Senate has confirmed some federal agency appointments as of January 28, 2025, there are several nominations that are undergoing Senate hearings. The ongoing nominations include most of the key health appointments, including the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The Partnership for Public Service and The Washington Post have a political appointee tracker that can be accessed here.
LEGISLATION UPDATES
There was a slew of women’s health-focused legislation introduced in the 118th Congress, aiming to address everything from endometriosis and uterine fibroids to maternal mortality to menopause.
Because Congress operates on a two-year legislative cycle, when one cycle ends, all pending legislation effectively expires. What this means in practical terms is that with the start of the 119th Congress, all legislative work from the previous Congress that has not been signed into law—its bills, resolutions, and proposals—have reset and will need to be reintroduced. It does not matter how “far” a proposal has gotten through the process in the previous session; each piece of reintroduced legislation must start again.
This process gives new members of Congress the chance to help shape the legislative agenda, and it affords members of Congress and advocates alike a chance to review formerly proposed policies with renewed scrutiny. Especially in 2025, with tighter funding and increasingly competitive priorities, women’s health advocates will need to come together to champion legislation they feel will most improve women’s health outcomes across the lifespan and, importantly, which policy changes could be implemented with limited to no federal funding. SWHR will be updating its Legislative Tracker as legislation related to women’s health research is introduced.
BROADER ADMINISTRATION DEVELOPMENTS
Beyond the anticipated changes with federal leadership and congressional committee appointments, there have also been several developments across federal agencies with implications for research and public health.
- Rescission of Biden Executive Orders. One of President Trump’s earliest activities upon taking office was rescinding several Biden-era executive orders. Among the executive orders that were rescinded were Executive Order 14087 (Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans) and Executive Order 14020 (Establishment of the White House Gender Policy Council). It is important to note that some of the executive orders that were rescinded will require additional regulatory or congressional action (e.g., any actions related to Medicare and Medicaid), so many are taking a “wait and see” approach. As of the publication of this blog, Executive Order 14120 on women’s health research has not been rescinded.
- Freeze on All Federal External Communications. On January 21, Acting HHS Secretary Dorothy Fink, at the direction of the new administration, sent a memo to all HHS operating divisions directing a pause on issuing any documents or public communications to include regulations, guidance, notices, grant announcements or communications, such as social media, websites, and press releases. The memo states, “As the new Administration considers its plan for managing the federal policy and public communications process, it is important the President’s appointees and designees have the opportunity to review and approve any regulations, guidance documents, and other public documents and communications (including social media).” While not all administrations implement these communications “blackouts,” they are not unprecedented. They have been used previously to ensure messaging aligns with a new administration’s priorities and policies. During President Trump’s previous term, there were also reports of temporary communications restrictions placed on certain federal agencies.
- Halt on Scientific Meetings. Following the instructions to pause agency communications, there were also reports of scientific meetings, such as National Institutes of Health (NIH) study section meetings and research grant reviews, being canceled. While some have pointed to the possibility that this halt may have been introduced to give the administration an opportunity to get acclimated, the lack of communication has led to uncertainty among grantees and other stakeholders. SWHR is monitoring for further clarification from the administration.
- Pause on Federal Grant and Loan Payments. On Monday, January 27, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in a memo to government agencies, ordered a pause to all federal grants and loans as well as blocked the issuance of new grants – which was set to go into effect at 5 p.m. on January 28. The pause is to ensure all grant and loan programs are consistent with President Trump’s executive orders on foreign aid, banning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and limiting spending on clean energy. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are gathering more information to help clarify what this means for their constituents, and SWHR is also awaiting further clarification of this guidance (SWHR does not receive any federal grants nor does it have any active federal contracts). Some have cited that these funding pauses could affect payrolls for universities and non-profits that receive federal funding as well as research projects and public health services.
Update: On January 28, shortly before the freeze was scheduled to go into effect, a federal judge temporarily blocked the order, which will preserve the status quo for at least a few days as the courts consider the order and its potential implications. - Hold Placed on Purchasing Research Goods. SWHR has also seen some reporting that scientists at the NIH were told that, as part of the communications pause, they should stop all purchases, including supplies for ongoing research studies. This would have implications for researchers with active studies where the results’ integrity relied on having certain supplies. While additional reporting has shared that employees were told they can now continue working with some vendors, there are still exceptions.
- Removal of Certain Materials Across Agency Website Pages. Over the past week, various federal websites have removed website pages related to topics, such as sex and gender and clinical trial diversity. For example, the FDA has removed its website pages on improving clinical trial diversity, and the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) has removed its website page and resources on “Sex & Gender.” Of note, the FDA guidance was in draft form and therefore left open-ended from the previous administration; it was expected that the guidance would be removed as part of this administration. SWHR is committed to ensuring that the Sex as a Biological Variable Policy continues to be implemented at the NIH, as considering and analyzing differences between men and women is critical to ensuring the health and well-being of both men and women.
While it is typical for administrations to have a period of transition, which may include actions like the agency communications pause, much remains to be seen in terms of what the current activities mean in practical terms for women’s health research. Federal agencies have been told that the communications freeze will be in effect until February 1, at which time they will receive additional guidance. The public health and scientific communities will be waiting for more guidance on that date.
SWHR is monitoring each of these developments closely and will continue to over the coming weeks and months. Halts to funding and convenings related to women’s health research – specifically scientific grants – are concerning because they stall active and ongoing scientific progress; progress that has the potential to do things like cure endometriosis, slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, and better detect heart attacks. It will be important to pick back up the work and federal programs quickly to maintain scientific momentum and ensure the integrity of research studies.
The Society remains committed our mission of advancing women’s health and promoting research on sex differences to optimize women’s health. SWHR sent a letter to the Trump Transition Team earlier this month highlighting what the Society sees as a path forward for improving women’s health across the lifespan. This includes promoting and supporting increased funding for sex-specific research, prioritizing research into healthy aging, and more. SWHR welcomes the opportunity to meet with members of the administration to discuss these priorities and ensure that women’s health remains a non-partisan issue.
SWHR will continue sharing updates on federal developments surrounding women’s health research. For questions, please contact the SWHR Policy Team at policy@swhr.org.