Senate Begins Reconciliation Deliberations: After the U.S. House passed their reconciliation package, complete with implicative SNAP program, Medicaid, and tax provision changes, the U.S. Senate has begun deliberations and initial text releases for portions of the bill this week. Senate committee leaders led a meeting this Wednesday outlining provisional toplines and unresolved issues, just two days after Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) met with President Trump.

NIH Releases Proposal Budget Cuts: On Thursday, NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya released his budget justification for $18.1 billion in FY2026 cuts. The proposal calls for streamlining the agency from 27 centers to 8 institutes and capping NIH’s indirect cost rate at 15% for grant recipients.

Senate Confirms O’Neill for HHS Dep. Secretary: On Thursday, the Senate confirmed Jim O’Neill to be HHS’ second-most senior leader. O’Neill, who was confirmed via a 52-43 vote, worked in FDA reform during his six-year tenure in the George W. Bush HHS. He will serve as Secretary Kennedy’s number two.

FDA Funding Bill Advances in House: On Thursday, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee advanced $6.8 billion in FY2026 funding for the FDA out of subcommittee. The measure, which passed via a 9-7 party-line vote, would allot $3.2 billion in direct appropriations and direct the rest via FDA user fees.

House Passes SUPPORT Act Reauthorization: On Wednesday, the U.S. House passed a SUPPORT Act reauthorization measure to prevent and treat illicit opioid use. The bill passed 366-57, despite Democratic opponents of the bill pointing to the Trump administration’s funding cuts and reorganization for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

CBO Releases Updated Reconciliation Score and Impacts: On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office released updated budget and impact projections for the House-passed reconciliation bill; the updates reflect amendments made to pass the bill through the Rules Committee. Medicaid would be cut $863 billion over 10 years under the last-minute changes to the bill and 10.9 million people would be without health insurance in 2034, according to the latest analysis. The largest increase in health care-related savings comes from moving up implementation of national work requirements from 2029 to December 31, 2026.

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