"We Want to Put Them in Trauma": Understanding the Trump Administration's Attack on Government Health Agency Regulatory Authority.

Abstract

Throughout the first months of his second term in office, the Trump administration has taken swift action to undermine the role that government health agencies play in the health policymaking process. This commentary makes the case that the Trump administration's efforts to undermine government health agencies' regulatory authority reflect a dislike and distrust of the people who serve in key civil service roles. It also provides evidence that efforts to roll back regulatory authority are part of a longstanding political strategy to cater to public dislike and distrust of scientific, medical, and academic experts. While the public could provide policymakers with an incentive to protect public health agencies, and the people who staff them, recent public opinion research shows that many Americans simply do not know or do not care enough about the Trump administration's actions to call for their elected officials to stop them. This commentary concludes by offering several health communication strategies and directions for future research (the "science of standing up for science") that might inspire public concern about efforts to roll back government health agencies' regulatory authority, and to show support for the civil servants who comprise those agencies.