Public health grapples with federal changes and the rise of MAHA

Public health grapples with federal changes and the rise of MAHA

Pien Huang

November 04, 2025 / 10:33 am

Dr. Georges Benjamin has seen many infectious disease outbreaks and bioterrorism threats in the near-25 years he's led the American Public Health Association, or APHA, a professional group representing thousands of public health workers and researchers across the country.

But the current crisis hitting the field is different: "I think public health is under attack by our own federal government more than anything else," he says.

The Trump Administration is making deep cuts to staffing and funding for the existing health system, and at the same time, the Make America Healthy Again movement is on the rise. Under the leadership of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the movement