Public Health Under Siege

American public health is in crisis. The second Trump administration has imposed sweeping budget cuts and staff layoffs on federal health agencies, eroded the nation's public health infrastructure, and pursued myriad policies that imperil population health both in the United States and across the world. Why is public health under siege, and what does this tumultuous moment reveal about the politics of public health? This article chronicles the damage to public health caused by the Trump administration; analyzes the sources of public health's current predicament, including rising partisan polarization, the COVID-19 backlash, and a shifting political environment; and explores the challenges that lie ahead if public health is to surmount the turmoil that now engulfs it.