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Republicans’ push for a narrow party-line bill focused solely on immigration enforcement funding is running into opposition from anti-abortion activists and lawmakers who fear it will trigger the return of hundreds of millions in Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. That, conservatives argue, would demoralize the GOP base ahead of the midterms and widen the existing rift between their movement and the Trump administration. (Ollstein and King, 4/23)

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators wants government food assistance programs to foot the bill for rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. The senators this week introduced what they’re calling the Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act, which would make the supermarket staple an eligible purchase under the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. (4/23)

The AMA is calling on lawmakers to take action to address AI, in letters to the co-chairs of the Congressional Artificial Intelligence Caucus, the Congressional Digital Health Caucus and the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus. Congress should plug regulatory gaps that prevent AI oversight, given current frameworks weren’t designed for generative AI tools that can shift from casual conversation to therapeutic guidance within a single interaction, the AMA said. (Olsen, 4/23)

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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. completed his marathon tour of House and Senate committees this week to defend President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for his department, but he got grilled on lots of non-budget matters as well, most notably his proposed changes to the childhood vaccine schedule. Meanwhile, Trump made some of his own health policy, signing an executive order to facilitate the use of hallucinogens to treat mental health conditions. That action came just days after it was suggested to him in a text message from podcaster/influencer Joe Rogan, who was present in the Oval Office for the signing. (Rovner, 4/23)

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sparked outrage among disability rights advocates with recent comments alleging widespread fraud in Medicaid programs that pay people to care for elderly or disabled family members — a system millions of Americans rely on to survive. During testimony before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee last week, Kennedy criticized Medicaid-funded programs that pay relatives to serve as caregivers, alleging they compensate people for tasks they “used to do as family members for free.” (Hixenbaugh, 4/23)

On a sweltering night in August 2024, moments before Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed then-candidate Donald J. Trump at a packed rally in Arizona, a conservative young wellness podcaster named Alex Clark had a fleeting backstage conversation with the once-and-future president. “I said, ‘Mr. President, please keep talking about food and pharma; this has a massive impact with undecided female voters,’ ” recalled Ms. Clark, now a leading conservative voice in Mr. Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement. Witnessing the two men join forces, she said, “was the greatest political moment of my life.” (Stolberg, 4/23)