[Editor’s note: This transcript was generated using transcription software. It has been edited for style and clarity.]
Julie Rovner: Hello from KFF Health News and WAMU Public Radio in Washington, D.C. Welcome to What the Health? I’m Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KFF Health News, and as always, I’m joined by some of the best and smartest health reporters covering Washington. We’re taping early this week in advance of the holiday on Wednesday, July 1, at 10 a.m. As always, news happens fast and things might have changed by the time you hear this. So, here we go.
Today we are joined via videoconference by Alice Miranda Olstein of Politico.
Alice Miranda Ollstein: Hello there.
Rovner: Lizzy Lawrence of Stat News.
Lizzy Lawrence: Hi.
Rovner: And making her What the Health? debut, my KFF Health News colleague Amanda Seitz. Welcome.
Amanda Seitz: Hello, Julie. Thanks for having me.
Rovner: Tons of health news again this week. So, we will jump right in. We’re going to start at the Supreme Court, where the justices wrapped up the 2025-26 session by deciding that, yes, the 14th Amendment does mean what it says regarding birthright citizenship, which would have been a very big health story if it had gone the other way. Still, in this last crush of cases, there were some that will have more of an impact on health policy than might appear at first blush, and even some impact on health politics. So, policy first: In a decision handed down Monday, the justices said that presidents may fire members of nearly all independent agencies for any reason, not just malfeasance in office. Previously, Congress had written into laws establishing many of these bodies, like the Federal Trade Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, that presidents could not dismiss members just because …