STAT+: Senators leave RFK Jr.’s MAHA agency out of 2026 budget in apparent snub

Chelsea Cirruzzo is a Washington correspondent at STAT, where she covers HHS. You can reach Chelsea on Signal at chelseacirruzzo.42. WASHINGTON — Senate appropriators seemingly snubbed an effort by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reorganize certain primary care and chronic health programs into a new agency known as the Administration for a Healthy America. Instead, a fiscal 2026 budget approved Thursday by senators on both sides of the aisle funds programs such as HIV/AIDS prevention and community health centers within their existing agencies. Advertisement While the markup is just one step in a lengthy congressional budget process, the failure to recognize the AHA is a blow to Kennedy’s hopes of making the new agency the crown jewel of his massive department-wide reorganization plan.