Photo credit: www.govexec.com

Health Summits Postponed Amid HHS Communication Freeze

Several important health summits are facing delays due to a directive from the Trump administration, which has instructed employees of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its associated agencies to pause external communications and professional engagements amid the ongoing presidential transition.

This communication standstill, first highlighted by The Washington Post on January 21, impacts public messaging from federal health organizations, including updates on websites and social media interactions. While it’s standard for new presidential administrations to assess and possibly alter an agency’s communications to reflect its own policies, the breadth of this current freeze under President Donald Trump is notably extensive.

An HHS spokesperson described the guidelines in a statement to Nextgov/FCW, explaining that the halt pertains to “mass communications and public appearances that are not directly connected to emergencies or critical health preservation efforts.”

This week alone has seen the indefinite postponement of two significant events—the 2025 AFCEA Bethesda Health IT Summit and the HHS Industry Summit—attributable to this overarching directive.

According to a statement from AFCEA Bethesda, the health summit was pushed back “due to the majority of speakers withdrawing their participation,” with hopes of rescheduling later in 2025. The summit was originally intended to commence on January 28.

Similarly, the HHS Industry Summit, slated to kick off on February 10, has also been postponed without a specified reschedule timeline. Although the event page did not cite the current freeze, it mentioned, “we will share the new date and further details as soon as they become available.”

In a memo directed at HHS staff, acting head Dorothy Fink clarified that the pause on communications extends until February 1, halting many standard outreach efforts pending review by a presidential appointee.

“This is a short pause to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization,” the HHS spokesperson elaborated. “There will be exceptions for announcements deemed mission-critical by HHS divisions, handled on a case-by-case basis.”

It is currently uncertain whether the communication freeze will extend beyond February 1. The situation could be further complicated by the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead HHS, which has met with skepticism from both Democrats and Republicans due to his controversial medical viewpoints. A confirmation hearing by the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled for January 29.

Source
www.govexec.com