Last Updated on June 3, 2025 by BVN
Overview: Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra warned that the Trump administration’s budget proposal to eliminate funding for certain health programs and reduce federal Medicaid funding to states could be detrimental to the health of the American people. He also expressed concern over the elimination of federal behavioral health grants and the CDC’s recommendation for COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy pregnant people and children. Becerra, who is running for California governor, urged states to stand up against these measures and called it “Pennywise pound foolish” to cut healthcare for the most vulnerable communities.
Breanna Reeves
Former U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra gave insights into the current state of HHS under the leadership of current HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during the annual Association of Health Care Journalists Conference in Los Angeles on May 30.
Moderated by Joanne Kenen, the journalist in residence at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Becerra discussed the changes underway at HHS following new leadership and answered questions from journalists about how those changes will impact vulnerable communities.
During his tenure as health secretary under the Biden administration and COVID-19 pandemic, Becerra led initiatives that made vaccinations available to underserved communities, including pregnant women and children, declared Monkeypox as public health emergency to foster action and worked to expand the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Less than a year into Trump’s second term and these initiatives and programs are at risk of being dismantled under Kennedy’s leadership.
In May, a leaked draft of the budget proposal revealed that the Trump administration plans to cut certain health programs under HHS, including eliminating all funding for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services effective October 1, 2025.
In another blow to the previous administration’s practices, on May 27, Kennedy announced on X that he would remove the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendation for healthy pregnant people and children to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
“We have an obligation to protect the health of the American people, and to be silent is to acquiesce,” Becerra said. “There’s too many people acquiescing to what’s going on right now, including some of the largest law firms in the nation, some of the most spectacular institutions of higher education, some of the biggest and wealthiest corporations in America — no más. That’s not the way to go.”
In the face of threats to eliminate funding for states who choose to pay for healthcare for undocumented residents and the elimination of federal behavioral health grants that help students access mental health support, Becerra said “you just got to stand up.”
The House Energy and Commerce Committee released a bill that outlines provisions to reduce the federal deficit. One provision aims to reduce federal Medicaid funding to states by penalizing states for providing coverage to immigrants with their own state funds. California is one of 14 states that use their funds to provide health coverage to children regardless of immigration status, as well as for some adults, according to a KFF analysis.
However, according to Becerra, this tactic isn’t feasible — “you can’t commandeer a state on how to use their funds,” he said.
While states could sue if the bill’s provision is passed, California may take steps to eliminate Medi-Cal access to undocumented residents as part of the governor’s 2025-26 budget revision released on May 14.
“I get it. Budgets are tough. Governors have to balance the books. No doubt,” Becerra said. While not currently a sitting governor, Becerra threw his hat in the ring as a candidate in California’s 2026 gubernatorial race.
“But what I will tell you is this, it is Pennywise and pound foolish to say that you’re going to save money by cutting health care for the folks who need it the most.”
