Trump administration appeals vaccine ruling in Mass.

April 30, 2026

Summary

Trump administration appealed a judge’s order blocking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.

Why this matters

The appeal will shape whether changes to the childhood vaccine schedule can take effect while the case proceeds. It also affects the status of the federal advisory panel that helps guide U.S. vaccine recommendations.

The Trump administration appealed a Massachusetts federal judge’s ruling that blocked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule.

A filing Wednesday evening in the District of Massachusetts showed the administration was appealing U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy’s March 16 order. Murphy put on hold decisions made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee, ruling that Kennedy had replaced the committee “unlawfully.”

In January, Kennedy and the CDC changed the childhood vaccine schedule, cutting the number of recommended diseases from 18 to 11.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups sued the Department of Health and Human Services, arguing that the schedule changes and Kennedy’s overhaul of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices violated federal law.

Under Murphy’s ruling, Kennedy’s appointment of 13 committee members was stayed, voiding their positions and any votes they cast.

The Justice Department could seek emergency relief to prompt faster action on the appeal. That would require the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to decide quickly whether to stay the March 16 order. Further steps could otherwise take months and include oral arguments.

The status of the advisory panel remained unresolved. A meeting scheduled for March, where members were expected to discuss Covid shots, was postponed indefinitely.

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The vote followed months of public criticism of Powell by President Donald Trump over interest rates.

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Kevin Warsh moved closer Wednesday to becoming Federal Reserve chair after the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs voted 13-11 along party lines to advance his nomination to the full Senate.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis cast the deciding vote after the Trump administration said Friday it would end a Department of Justice investigation into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

“It’s no secret that the reason that Mr. Warsh’s nomination could have been held up is because of my concern with the investigation. I want to thank the Department of Justice for the assurances that they gave me,” Tillis, a Republican, said after the brief committee meeting.

“The fact of the matter is, this was based on two minutes of testimony. It was not criminal,” Tillis said of the DOJ review of Powell’s June 2025 testimony to Congress about a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters.

A federal judge last month blocked administration subpoenas seeking records from the Fed and Powell, citing “a mountain of evidence” that Trump was using the investigation to pressure Powell.

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House adopts budget plan to advance ICE funding

In a memo to lawmakers Tuesday, the Office of Management and Budget warned that Homeland Security “will soon run out of critical operating funds, placing essential personnel and operations at risk.”

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The House on Wednesday adopted a Senate-approved budget plan, the first step in a Republican strategy to fund federal immigration agencies through the rest of President Donald Trump’s term without Democratic votes.

The resolution passed 215-211. It directed the committees that oversee Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to draft legislation providing about $70 billion for those agencies. Both chambers would still need to approve that legislation.

Senate Republicans unveiled and adopted the budget blueprint last week as they sought to meet Trump’s June deadline to fund ICE and Border Patrol and end the funding lapse that has shut down the Department of Homeland Security since February. Republicans planned to fund other parts of the department separately.

Republicans said there was added urgency after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday. Democrats said most of Homeland Security could be funded immediately if House Republican leaders allowed a vote on legislation the Senate passed with bipartisan support in March.

Democrats have said they would not support funding for ICE and Border Patrol without reforms. Disagreement between House and Senate Republicans over whether to split immigration enforcement funding from the rest of Homeland Security has also extended the standoff.

In late March, the Senate passed a measure to fund most of the department, excluding ICE and Border Patrol, with plans to fund immigration enforcement through budget reconciliation, which allows the Senate to pass some budget bills by simple majority. House Democrats said they would support that bill, but House Republican leaders did not bring it up for a vote. Instead, the House passed a 60-day funding measure for the entire department, sending the issue back to the Senate.
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Trump says Putin discussed possible Ukraine ceasefire

A Kremlin aide said the friendly, businesslike call lasted more than 1.5 hours and that Trump said he believed a deal to end the Ukraine war was close.

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President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he discussed a possible ceasefire in Russia’s war in Ukraine during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump spoke after the Kremlin said the two leaders discussed a temporary ceasefire next month to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II.

“We had a good talk, I’ve known him a long time,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office as he met with astronauts from the Artemis II mission.

Trump said he suggested “a little bit of a ceasefire” in the war in Ukraine during the call.

“And I think he might do that,” Trump said, before asking reporters whether Putin had already announced a ceasefire.

The two leaders’ last publicly reported phone call was March 9, although Trump has said they speak regularly.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced sharp questions from Democrats on Wednesday over the Trump administration’s war in Iran, including its cost, legal authority, and personnel decisions, during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the 2027 military budget.

The war had cost $25 billion so far, according to Pentagon figures presented during the hearing. The administration’s budget proposal would raise defense spending to $1.5 trillion.

Democrats focused on the war’s costs, the use of U.S. munitions, a school bombing that killed children, and President Donald Trump’s shifting rationale for the conflict. Republicans largely backed the administration and focused on budget issues.

Hegseth called criticism of the war political. “The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” he said.

Rep. Adam Smith, the committee’s top Democrat, pressed Hegseth on his statement that Iran’s nuclear facilities were “obliterated” in a 2025 U.S. attack, questioning why the administration later said war was necessary because of an imminent nuclear threat.

“We had to start this war, you just said 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat,” Smith said. “Now you’re saying that it was completely obliterated?”

Hegseth said Iran “had not given up their nuclear ambitions” and still had thousands of missiles. Smith replied that the war “left us at exactly the same place we were before.”

Democrats also criticized Hegseth’s management of the war and its economic effects, including higher gasoline prices. “Secretary Hegseth, you have been lying to the American public about this war from day one and so has the president,” Rep. John Garamendi of California said.

A ceasefire is in place. House and Senate Democrats failed to pass war powers resolutions that would have required Trump to halt the conflict unless Congress authorized further action.

Lawmakers also questioned Hegseth about removing senior military officers, including Army Gen. Randy George. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan said George was widely respected and asked why he was fired. Hegseth replied, “We needed new leadership.”

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Former Fauci aide indicted over COVID records case

One 2021 email said, in part, “I learned from our FOIA lady here how to make emails disappear after I am FOIA’D.”

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The Justice Department said this week that David Morens, a former top aide to Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, faced charges in an alleged scheme to conceal federal records during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Current U.S. passports depict historical scenes, including the moon landing, and symbols such as the Liberty Bell and Statue of Liberty.

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Trump weighs U.S. troop cuts in Germany

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President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that the United States was reviewing a possible reduction of troops in Germany and expected a decision soon.

“The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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Trump administration appeals vaccine ruling in Mass.

A judge ruled that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr unlawfully reconstituted a federal vaccine advisory board.

Full story +

The Trump administration appealed a Massachusetts federal judge’s ruling that blocked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule.

A filing Wednesday evening in the District of Massachusetts showed the administration was appealing U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy’s March 16 order. Murphy put on hold decisions made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee, ruling that Kennedy had replaced the committee “unlawfully.”

In January, Kennedy and the CDC changed the childhood vaccine schedule, cutting the number of recommended diseases from 18 to 11.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups sued the Department of Health and Human Services, arguing that the schedule changes and Kennedy’s overhaul of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices violated federal law.

Under Murphy’s ruling, Kennedy’s appointment of 13 committee members was stayed, voiding their positions and any votes they cast.

The Justice Department could seek emergency relief to prompt faster action on the appeal. That would require the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to decide quickly whether to stay the March 16 order. Further steps could otherwise take months and include oral arguments.

The status of the advisory panel remained unresolved. A meeting scheduled for March, where members were expected to discuss Covid shots, was postponed indefinitely.
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The U.S. Air Force said Tuesday it had approved a plan to recruit, retain, and train artificial intelligence professionals as part of a broader Defense Department push to strengthen the military’s AI capabilities.

The AI Hiring and Talent Development Plan, approved this month, aimed to help the Department of the Air Force maintain an edge over U.S. adversaries and become an “AI-first force,” according to the strategy document.

“This Al strategy is fundamental to leveraging our people as a strategic asset, strengthening readiness and lethality, and modernizing our Air and Space Forces to ensure our nation’s competitive advantage,” Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said in the document.

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For airmen and guardians already in AI-related jobs, or seeking them, the department said workers would need to show their skills matched a specified model rather than meet a course-completion requirement alone. The training effort also aimed to establish a baseline of AI literacy across the force.

“AI is not a niche technology of the future; it is now an indispensable capability that must be integrated across our platforms and mission sets now as foundational to our readiness, to enhancing lethality and reestablishing deterrence, and as a cornerstone of our modernization efforts,” Meink said.

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Beyond workforce development, the department said its AI effort also covered data, technology, and infrastructure; partnership and ecosystem management; change management and process re-engineering; and AI governance and oversight.

The document said the Air Force would later release an AI implementation plan detailing how it would carry out the strategy, but it did not give a date.