How do you win a shutdown?

Which party will win the shutdown? It's a question on the minds of people who follow politics. The answer depends on how "win" is defined, and that's tricky.

The stakes differ for each party. Democrats don't control the White House or either chamber of Congress. A shutdown is all they've got, and it's a chance to show some fight.

But that's not the same as having nothing to lose.

Republicans could "win" if voters hold Democrats more responsible for the shutdown, according to Syracuse University political science professor Grant Reeher. Republicans would especially benefit if Democrats hold out for a while, then cave without concessions, making them look weak to their base.

For Democrats, a win could include getting a health care concession, or even just bringing attention to Obamacare insurance, especially if voters blame Republicans for letting enhanced ACA premium tax credits expire. President Trump said Monday that he had spoken to Democrats and would like to reach a deal with them on health care, though House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said the president hasn't spoken to congressional Democrats since before the shutdown.

Also, it's not clear that voters will remember the shutdown this time next year.

"November 2026 is still a ways out," Reeher said.

drug prices

Drug pricing loophole remains

The Trump administration has been considering plugging a loophole that allows drugmakers to avoid Medicare price negotiation by combining existing drug ingredients. But that'll have to wait at least one more year.

The loophole involves the Medicare drug price negotiation program, which Democrats created and President Trump mostly doesn't mention.

Read more for which drugs would likely be affected and why advocates for lower drug prices believe the drug industry will exploit the measure.

nih

Closing the book on a storied past

Megan Molteni and Anil Oza have an intriguing story about the past, and future, of NIH advisory committees.

Starting in the 1970s, the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee, or RAC, played an important role in the rollout of some of the first genetic engineering technologies and the entrance of gene therapies into clinical testing.

In 2019, a new advisory panel called NExTRAC took over RAC's work on newer ethical questions, including CRISPR gene drives and novel uses of personal health data.

But in May, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya told committee members the panel will no longer meet, as part of an effort to make the NIH run more efficiently, Megan writes.

Read more about the potential impact of the loss of NIH advisers.

supreme court

SCOTUS hears conversion therapy suit

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments for the first time today in a challenge to a state law banning licensed mental health practitioners from trying to change a young person's sexual or gender identity, Theresa Gaffney reports.

The challenge is to a Colorado law, but it could affect laws in more than 20 states that ban licensed counselors from performing conversion therapy on minors, even if clients say they want it.

Read more about how the case could impact the regulation of medicine and the balance between religious freedom and the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people.

covid-19 shot

Delayed response

On Monday, CDC Acting Director Jim O'Neill announced that he'd approved recommendations allowing anyone over the age of 6 months to receive an updated Covid-19 shot, Anil Oza and Chelsea Cirruzzo report.

States had been unable to order the shots for low-income children while they waited for the government to sign off.

The updated recommendation doesn't say whether some individuals will still need a prescription to access the shot, as approved by the FDA.

O'Neill also approved a recommendation that children under the age of 4 receive the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and the chickenpox shot separately, as opposed to receiving a combined shot known as MMRV.

vaccines

MMR breakup

On the social media site X, O'Neill called for drastic changes to the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine that aren't supported by medical research, Anil reports, intensifying the Trump administration's criticism of a shot that's a cornerstone of the childhood vaccination schedule. Specifically, O'Neill called for companies to make a separate shot against each disease, rather than the combo MMR vaccine.

Outside experts have told STAT that breaking up the shots could leave children more vulnerable to infections. A study published in 2017 found that 69% of children who received a combination vaccine completed the recommended series, compared to 50% of kids whose parents opted for the single antigen vaccines. (The single-disease vaccines are no longer available in the U.S.)

There is no evidence that getting separate shots for measles, mumps, and rubella is safer than the combination vaccine. Read more.

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