The U.S. Department of Agriculture will not use any of the more than $5 billion in emergency funding it maintains to provide food assistance to needy families during the government shutdown, nor will it reimburse states that try to provide such benefits themselves, according to an agency memo obtained by Scripps News on Friday.

Trump administration officials argue theyre unable to use the funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during a lapse in appropriations, and instead are holding onto them for true emergencies like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, that can come on quickly and without notice.

SNAP contingency funds are only available to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover, benefits, the unsigned memo states. The contingency fund is not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists.

Moreover, there is no provision or allowance under current law for States to cover the cost of benefits and be reimbursed, the memo stated, so states and local jurisdictions that try to use their own funds to provide SNAP assistance shouldnt expect any reimbursement from the federal government.

News of the memos existence was first reported by Axios.

The agencys announcement means the nearly 42 million low-income Americans who rely on that assistance, often referred to as food stamps, are likely to go without them starting next month, absent a long-shot deal to reopen the government. Earlier in October, the Acting Associate Administrator of SNAP Ronald Ward penned a letter to states warning that there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits should the shutdown drag on.

Democrats in Congress and at the state level, meanwhile, have argued the Trump administration has a legal obligation to use the emergency funds to help pay out SNAP benefits. In a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins earlier Friday, 214 House Democrats said they were deeply concerned that the agency might not use the contingency funds, which Congress provides precisely for this reason.

Indeed, the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBBP), a left-leaning think tank, argued as much in a recent analysis.

While the emergency funds likely wouldnt cover the entirety of SNAP beneficiaries November benefits, estimated to cost more than $8 billion in total, the agency should at a minimum use the contingency funding to provide partial benefits to eligible households for November, the CBBP authors wrote.

Their analysis pointed to a since-deleted USDA contingency plan for a government shutdown in which officials indicated the emergency funds could be used for SNAP benefits.

Congressional intent is evident that SNAPs operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds, the document stated.

RELATED STORY | Federal workers miss first full paychecks as shutdown becomes second-longest in US history

Asked about the USDAs new memo arguing the contrary, CBBP officials pointed Scripps News to a post by the think tank arguing the USDA was choosing not to use them in an effort to gain political advantage, leaving millions of families across the country to suffer as a result.

Shortly after the news of the USDA memo was public, all 45 Senate Democrats sent a letter to Rollins demanding she use the emergency funds to help pay for SNAP benefits and utilize all available legal authorities so that American families can get benefits without interruption.

Since the shutdown began, the Trump administration has in other cases moved money around within government accounts in order to fulfill obligations during the shutdown including within the USDA. Earlier in October, Rollins utilized legal authorities to transfer $300 million from the Child Nutrition budget account to the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, which provides food and nutrition assistance to low-income pregnant and postpartum women as well as children up to age five.

The USDA memo, conversely, argued doing so for SNAP would amount to pull[ing] away funding for school meals and infant formula.

This Administration will not allow Democrats to jeopardize funding for school meals and infant formula in order to prolong their shutdown, the memo stated.

Representatives for the USDA did not immediately respond to inquiries about the Democrats letters, or why the agency was no longer following the guidance of their previous shutdown contingency plan.

The Trump administration has identified a new country where it intends to imminently send Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man wrongly deported to El Salvador earlier this year, the Department of Justice said in a court filing Friday.

The West African nation of Liberia has agreed to accept Abrego Garcia, the DOJ officials said, and the Department of Homeland Security is aiming for a removal date as early as Oct. 31.

Although [Abrego Garcia] has identified more than twenty countries that he purports to fear would persecute or torture him if he were removed there, Liberia is not on that list, DOJ lawyers wrote. Liberia is a thriving democracy and one of the United Statess closest partners on the African continent.

The Trump administration expects to file further notices pertaining to Abrego Garcias removal before a federal court in Maryland later Friday, the filing added, and U.S. officials have "received diplomatic assurances regarding the treatment of third-country individuals removed to Liberia from the United States and are making the final necessary arrangements for [Abrego Garcias] removal.

RELATED STORY | Kilmar Abrego Garcia moved to a Pennsylvania detention facility

In a statement to Scripps News, Abrego Garcias attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg blasted the DOJs new proposal.

"Having struck out with Uganda, Eswatini and Ghana, ICE now seeks to deport our client Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia a country with which he has no connection, thousands of miles from his family and home in Maryland. Costa Rica has agreed to accept him as a refugee, and remains a viable and lawful option. Instead, the government has chosen yet another path that feels designed to inflict maximum hardship. Their actions are punitive, cruel and unconstitutional, Sandoval-Moshenberg said.

Unless Liberia guarantees that it will not re-deport Mr. Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, then sending him to Liberia is no less unlawful than sending him directly to El Salvador a second time."

RELATED STORY | Abrego Garcia says he was subjected to psychological torture in El Salvador jail

Abrego Garcias name was thrust to the spotlight when he was deported to El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison in March, despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation there due to fear of persecution. The Trump administration has claimed Abrego Garcia, who had been living in Maryland with his wife and children, was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, though he and his attorneys deny that allegation.

He was returned to the U.S. in June, only to immediately face new charges of human smuggling in Tennessee.

Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty to those allegations and has sought to force Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to testify in an upcoming hearing concerning Abrego Garcia's claim that his prosecution was unconstitutionally vindictive in nature.

The DOJ on Wednesday said it opposed that request, describing it as an open-ended fishing expedition.

Judge Paula Xinis, overseeing Abrego Garcias case in Maryland, has barred his removal while hes awaiting trial in the Tennessee case. She had not yet weighed in on the DOJs new proposal to remove him to Liberia as of Friday afternoon.

Last month, Democrats in Congress refused to support a government funding extension bill over concerns some Americans would see major price increases in their health insurance premiums due to the impending expiration of tax credits that help lower-income Americans afford coverage.

Now, 23 days into the shutdown, some Americans are starting to see those fears realized.

Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance marketplace in Idaho began Oct. 15, making it the first state in the nation to allow consumers to sign up for plans while the tax credits remain in limbo.

According to Pat Kelly, executive director of the states ACA exchange Your Health Idaho, gross premiums for health insurance plans are up an average of 10% versus last year. But net premium costs the amount consumers pay after tax credits and other benefits are applied are up about 75% on average, or $100 per month.

That number varies widely depending on an individuals income, family makeup and type of plan. An Idaho couple earning under 400% of the federal poverty level, or $84,600 in 2026, who purchase a mid-level silver plan can expect their annual premiums to increase by about $18,000, Kelly said. A family of four who earn over $128,600 will see an increase of about $17,000.

Moreover, experts are concerned the premium cost increases will push some younger and healthier people to drop their insurance plans altogether, driving up costs for everyone as insurers are forced to cover more people requiring expensive care.

We're certainly concerned any time there is an increase in the uninsured in Idaho, Kelly told Scripps News in an interview Thursday. How it will impact rates going forward, I think it's too early to tell.

The so-called enhanced premium tax credits were established in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic by the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021, and extended through 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act. According to those laws, households with incomes less than 400% of the federal poverty level can receive tax credits to help offset the cost of their health insurance premiums.

But even those who earn more than 400% of poverty level will see their subsidies decrease should the tax credits expire.

Everyone that receives a tax credit in 2025 will be impacted, Kelly said.

And Idaho is among the states expected to be least impacted by the tax credit expirations, according to an analysis by the health policy research firm KFF.

Americans in Wyoming and parts of West Virginia, Connecticut and Illinois are set to see the greatest increases in premium costs, the analysis found, with spikes ranging from $600 to $4,000 per month on the horizon.

RELATED STORY | 'I will suffer:' SNAP recipients brace for possible delay in benefits due to government shutdown

While some Republicans in Congress have signaled an openness to starting a conversation about extending the subsidies, all have held firm that no such discussions can take place until after government shutdown ends.

The government needs to open up and then were happy to talk about any other issues the Democrats want to talk about, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters earlier this week. I think the president is willing to sit down... but open up the government and that can happen.

White House officials, meanwhile, have sought to portray the coming subsidy cliff as Democrats fault, given their longstanding support for the ACA.

I'll just point out the irony in Democrats holding the government and the American public hostage over a health care system that they created, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. Republicans have always said it's a broken system, yes, but they caused it, and now they want to shut down the government. To fix it, we need to open the government, and then we can have these very important conversations about health care.

Congressional Democrats, for their part, by and large believe that the coming price increases will only strengthen their hand in the shutdown fight. While open enrollment in Idaho began in mid-October, most other state exchanges will open on Nov. 1 at which point the scope and scale of a premium increase will become more clear.

According to Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Republicans will own the price increases due to their refusal to act.

If Republicans don't want to level with their own constituents about what is at stake, I'm happy to do it, Murray said at a news conference last week. Republicans may well be able to shut down the government, but they cannot shut down the debate, and they cannot shut out the voices of families who are facing the harsh reality of their inaction.

Indeed, a recent KFF analysis found that 80% of all ACA premium tax credits went to consumers in states President Donald Trump won in in the 2024 election.

To that end, a group of 13 House Republicans facing difficult reelection contests penned a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Tuesday urging swift action to address the expiring tax credits.

Millions of Americans are facing drastic premium increases due to short-sighted Democratic policymaking, the lawmakers wrote. While we did not create this crisis, we now have both the responsibility and the opportunity to address it.

But those lawmakers too said they wouldnt support such measures until the shutdown concluded. And with Democrats are holding firm that they wont vote to reopen the government until the ACA subsidy issue is addressed, the shutdown appears likely to drag on with no end in sight.

RELATED STORY | Most Americans fear rising health care costs as shutdown drags on, poll says

A government shutdown comes with many unknowns, chief among them how long it will last. Some have ended within a day, while the longest stretched 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019.

As in previous shutdowns, executive branch agencies have prepared contingency plans that spell out which employees would be furloughed and which activities would be paused when funding lapses. Major programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are not be affected because they are funded separately from the annual appropriations process.

This time around, however, there's even more at stake for federal workers. The Trump administration has threatened mass, permanent layoffs due to additional powers granted to the president during a shutdown. The Office of Personnel Management raised the possibility of such layoffs in new guidance released this week, finding that agencies should be allowed to deem those effectuating such employee terminations essential employees not impacted by potential furloughs.

The Office of Management and Budget determined that agencies are authorized to direct employees to perform work necessary to administer the [Reduction-in-Force] process during the lapse in appropriations as excepted activities, the document stated.

Democratic leaders have decried the move as intended to ruin lives, promising not to give in to the president's intimidation tactics. And a coalition of federal employee labor unions has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the layoffs, though it remains unclear how successful that effort will be.

Even without mass layoffs, the impact of a shutdown on federal workers would be significant. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that roughly 750,000 government employees would be furloughed, leading to a $400 million impact per day. Due to a law passed following the 2018-19 shutdown, all federal employees will automatically be granted back pay once funding resumes but will have to go without paychecks for the duration of the shutdown.

Active-duty military, TSA officers, and Veterans Health Administration doctors are among those who will be excepted from furloughs and allowed to continue working. But the Trump administration has broad latitude to decide which types of employees are deemed essential, prompting concerns from Democrats and government watchdog groups that the president may prioritize those implementing his policy agenda over employees carrying out other government services.

Scripps News crunched the numbers to demonstrate the impact of a shutdown on agencies that have shared shutdown plans publicly.

U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers:: The vast majority of U.S. ACE operations will continue during the shutdown, officials said. No other branch of the military released a standalone shutdown contingency plan, pointing instead to the broader Department of Defense guidance.

Total number of employees: 36,610 Number expected to be furloughed: 1,119 (3.1%) Number exempted or funded through other means (note some employees duplicated in this count): 35,491

Internal Revenue Service: No IRS employees are expected to be impacted by the shutdown, as the Inflation Reduction Act provided supplemental IRS funding through 2031. While we do not anticipate using the plan, prudent management requires that agencies prepare for this contingency, the IRS wrote.

Total # of employees: 74,299 Number expected to be furloughed: 0 (0%) Number exempted or funded through other means (note some employees duplicated in this count): 74,299

Social Security Administration: According to agency documents, certain activities will be halted during a shutdown, including but not limited to benefit verifications, processing FOIA requests, replacement Medicare card processing, bias complaint processing, and training/IT support for local offices. Direct-service operations including benefits applications, payee changes and issuance/replacement of new Social Security cards will continue despite the funding lapse.

Total number of employees: 51,825 Number expected to be furloughed: 6,197 (12%) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count): 45,628

Department of Defense: The Pentagon has announced plans to furlough nearly half of its civilian workforce. Only the minimum number of civilian employees necessary to carry out excepted activities will be excepted from furlough, the Department said. Only the minimum number of civilian employees necessary to carry out excepted activities will be excepted from furlough. In addition to active-duty soldiers and reserve component personnel on federal active duty, only civilian employees assisting the Pentagons key priorities will remain at work. Those priorities, according to agency documents, include securing the U.S.-Mexico border, operations in the Middle East, designing the Golden Dome missile system, depot maintenance, shipbuilding and critical munitions.

Total number of civilian employees: 741,477 Number expected to be furloughed: 334,904 (45.2%) Number exempted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count): 406,573

Department of Education: A significant fraction of Education Department employees would be furloughed if the government shuts down. Disbursement of Pell Grants, federal student loan assistance and Title I and IDEA grants would continue, while new grantmaking, civil rights investigations and enforcement activities would cease.

Total number of employees: 2,447 Number expected to be furloughed: 2,117 (86.5%) Number exempted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count): 182

Health and Human Services: Dozens of government health agencies will be impacted by a shutdown. Medicare, Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance programs wont be impacted, nor will the Affordable Care Act exchanges. The FDA will continue food and drug reviews, the NIH continue some research and clinical and the CDC will continue monitoring for disease outbreaks. But HHS will halt oversight of extramural research contracts and grants, no longer process FOIA requests or public inquiries, and the agency will stop data collection, validation and analysis on some programs. The agency cautions that CDC communication to the American public about health-related information will be hampered, CMS will be unable to provide oversight to major contractors, and NIH will not have the ability to admit new patients to the Clinical Center, except for whom it is medically necessary.

Total number of employees: 79,717 Number expected to be furloughed: 32,460 (40.7%) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count): 59,463

Department of Homeland Security: Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and several other agencies central to Trumps immigration agenda, will be minimally impacted by a shutdown. Law enforcement operations, passport processing, TSA and cargo protections, U.S. Secret Service protection, counter-terrorism work and disaster relief funding will remain mostly unchanged. DHSs planning and research, policy functions and auditing activities will be stopped during the funding lapse.

Total number of employees: 271,927 Number expected to be furloughed: 14,184 (5.2%) Number excepted or funded through other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count): 257,743

Department of Justice: Most Justice Department work will continue during a shutdown, including criminal litigation and domestic and international extraditions. Some civil litigation work will be halted to the extent that this can be done without compromising to a significant degree the safety of human life or the protection of Property, according to agency documents, as will non-emergency trainings.

Total number of employees: 115,131 Number expected to be furloughed: 12,840 (11.2%) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count): 102,291

Department of Labor: More than three-quarters of Labor Department employees are expected to be furloughed during a shutdown. Activities related to the implementation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and American Rescue Plan Act will continue, as will the dispursement of worker entitlement benefits, child labor investigations nad some mine inspections. But all work in the Bureau of Labor Statistics will be halted, as will offices of veteran training and disability employment policy.

Total number of employees: 12,916 Number expected to be furloughed: 9,775 (75.7%) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count): 3,124

Department of Treasury (not including the IRS, Office of Inspector General or Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau): The Treasury Department plans to continue providing market and economic updates, oversight of the financial system, facilitating government payments and debt management and implementing the Inflation Reduction Act. But national security reviews of foreign investments in the U.S. will stop as will the processing of requests for sanctions exemptions. Some economic and financial policymaking programs will be paused, including those that benefit community development financial institutions.

Total number of employees: 2,714 Number expected to be furloughed: 859 (31.7) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count): 1,855

Department of Veterans Affairs: Most VA programs - including medical care, veteran benefits and Veterans Experience Office call center operations will continue despite the shutdown. But VA hospital research, the GI bill hotline, activities in the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection and public affairs services will cease.

Total # of employees: 461,499 Number expected to be furloughed: 14,874 (3.2%) Number excepted or funded by other programs: (note some employees duplicated in this count): 456,628

Environmental Protection Agency: Most employees working in the EPA would be furloughed if the government shuts down. Mandatory activities such as protection of EPA lands and buildings, law enforcement work and emergency and disaster assistance would continue. But all new grants and civil enforcement inspections would be halted, as would EPA external communications.

Total number of employees: 15,166 Number expected to be furloughed: 13,432 (88.6%) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count): 1,734

Department of Commerce: About four-in-five Commerce Department employees are expected to be furloughed during a shutdown. Observations, predictions, forecasting and warning services for weather, water and climate activities would continue, as would fisheries management and maintenance of the national vulnerability database. But research by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and National Institute of Standards and Technology would cease, as would operations for the Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Census Bureau.

Total number of employees: 42,984 Number expected to be furloughed: 34,711 (80.8%) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count): 8,273

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): A significant portion of NASA personnel would be furloughed during a shutdown. Operations pertaining to the International Space Station, satellite operations and the Artemis program would continue, but all NASA education initiatives, NASA TV programs and research obligations not aligned with presidential priorities will be halted.

Total number of employees: 18,218 Number expected to be furloughed: 15,094 (82.9%) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count): 3,124

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative: The office of the U.S. Trade Representative central to President Trumps trade and tariff agenda does not plan on furloughing anyone during the shutdown, finding all employees are excepted.

Total # of employees: 237 Number of employees expected to be furloughed: 0 (0%) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count): 237

Small Business Administration: According to agency documents, programs expected to continue during the shutdown include disaster preparedness and response activities, credit risk management, small business development centers and Native American Outreach, among others. But several loan programs, Women Owned Small Business Contracting and United States Export Assistance Centers will be temporarily closed or halted.

Total number of employees: 6,201 Number expected to be furloughed: 1,456 (24.2%) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count): 4,745

U.S. State Department: Nearly two-thirds of State Department employees will be furloughed if the government shuts down, agency guidance shows. National security-related operations and consular and embassy staffing will continue, but new grants, non-emergency travel, and official speeches and events will be halted.

Total number of employees: 26,995 Number of employees expected to be furloughed: 16,651 (61.7%) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count: 10,344

Department of Transportation: Most key functions of the Transportation Department will continue during the shutdown, including Air Traffic Control services, flight standard inspections and hazardous material inspections. But several other activities will be halted, including new aviation rulemaking, random drug testing on the non-safety workforce and public affairs work. Asked about the shutdown, a Transportation Department spokesperson told Scripps News that "our work to rebuild Americas aging infrastructure will stall," blaming congressional Democrats. "This shutdown will hurt the efficiency of air travel," the official added. "When the American people have to suffer through endless delays and cancellations, they should remember who voted to cut off controller pay and jeopardize the modernization of our skies."

Total number of employees: 53,717 Number of employees expected to be furloughed: 12,213 (22.7%) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count: 41,504

U.S. Department of Agriculture: Nearly half of USDA's workforce will be furloughed during the shutdown. According to agency documents, activities that will continue include essential food safety operations like inspections and laboratory work, fire preparation and response, animal and plant health emergency programs and those addressing pathogens like avian flu, among others. Payment processing, disaster assistance processing, research and report publications and a significant amount of work conducted by subagencies like the Risk Management Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, Food and Nutrition Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Economic Research Service and National Agricultural Statistical Service will halt. "Core programs" within the nutrition safety net, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) will continue "subject to the availability of funding." It remains unclear how long such programs can operate without traditional government appropriations.

Total number of employees: 85,907 Number of employees expected to be furloughed: 42,256 (49.2%) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count: 43,651

National Parks Service: While the Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Parks Service, has yet to post an updated shutdown contingency plan, the Parks Service late Tuesday did post its plan noting that parks will remain partially open during the shutdown. Nearly two-thirds of the Parks Service workforce will be furloughed, with only about 5,000 employees remaining working. Law enforcement work, border and coastal surveillance, protection of federal lands and parks property and protest permitting will continue and some national park sites will remain open: roads, lookouts, trails and open air memorials will "generally remain accessible," as will parks with areas that do not collect recreation fees. Trash and restroom maintenance will persist as well, but emergency services may be limited and buildings that require staffing, such as visitor centers or sites like the Washington Monument, will be closed and department documents indicate that any areas that appear to be posing a danger to humans or wildlife must close as well. During President Trumps first term, he allowed parks to remain open resulting in significant damage and vandalism. A coalition of former Parks Service officials previously penned a letter to current leaders urging them to keep parks closed during a shutdown.

Total number of employees: 14,500 Number of employees expected to be furloughed: 9,296 (64.1%) Number excepted or funded by other programs (note some employees duplicated in this count: 5,204

Others: Several other government agencies had not yet posted updated shutdown contingency plans as of Tuesday evening. Among those agencies with no updated plans were the Energy, Housing and Urban Development and Interior.

A spokesperson for the Department of Housing and Urban Development did not respond to an inquiry about shutdown plans, but did defend a recent notice appended to the agencys website tying blame for the shutdown to the radical left. Asked about criticism that such a message might run afoul of the Hatch Act, which prevents federal employees from engaging in some political activities, a HUD spokesperson told Scripps News there was no violation because it didnt target a particular party or individual but rather an ideology.

At HUD, we are working to keep critical services online and support our most vulnerable. Why is the media more focused on a banner than reporting on the impact of a shutdown on the American people? the spokesperson said.

Representatives for the Department of Energy did not respond to inquiries about their shutdown plans.

This story was updated at 11:20 a.m. on Wednesday, October 1, to include more information released late Tuesday evening.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary sent a letter to 22 Republican state attorneys general who'd previously requested an FDA review of the safety of mifepristone, a drug used to terminate pregnancy, Scripps News has learned.

The letter points to a study from the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank with ties to the Heritage Foundation and Project2025, that claimed to show that 11% of women taking the drug experienced "serious adverse events." The study was not peer reviewed; previous research cited by the FDA when approving the drug showed an adverse event incidence rate of just 0.5%.

Mifepristone is typically prescribed with another medicine called misoprostol. The drugs were approved to end a pregnancy through 10 weeks of gestation.

"Since its original approval, the FDA has received reports of serious adverse events in patients who took mifepristone. As with all approved drugs, when the FDA receives new information regarding adverse events, the agency reviews the new information and, as appropriate, takes necessary action," the letter states. "HHSthrough the FDAis conducting its own review of the evidence, including real-world outcomes and evidence, relating to the safety and efficacy of the drug."

Medication abortions account for about two-thirds of all pregnancy terminations in the U.S., according to the Guttmacher Institute, a sexual and reproductive health research group. In states where abortion is banned, it's often the only way for women to safely terminate pregnancies due to its availability on online and mail-order pharmacies and telehealth appointments.

A 2022 Scripps News investigation found that for every 1 million patients who used kifepristone, 6 and a half patients died, and that the death rate for penicillin is 4 times higher.

Abortion rights groups condemned the review.

Lets be clear: this is not about safetythis is the first step in banning abortion nationwide, even in states where it is currently protected. Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Martin Makary are hijacking our government agencies to push a backdoor abortion ban," said Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All. "They are lying about their agenda, and this is proof. Mifepristone is safe, effective, and essential. This is political interference designed to rip away our freedoms.

The research scientist behind a study purporting to show a link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and increased rates of neurological disorders like autism spectrum disorder and ADHD was previously paid at least $150,000 to provide expert testimony for plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Tylenols then-manufacturer, Scripps News has learned.

The plaintiffs in that case, a group of parents and guardians of children later diagnosed with autism and ADHD, sought significant damages from Johnson & Johnson, alleging the use of Tylenols active ingredient acetaminophen contributed to their childrens diagnoses. Court filings reveal Dr. Andrea Baccarelli, then a professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, said in sworn testimony that he provided more than 200 hours of work on behalf of the plaintiffs at $700 per hour, totaling at least $150,000.

But Denise Cote, the federal judge overseeing the case in the Southern District of New York, ultimately dismissed the lawsuit and tossed out Baccarelli's expert testimony.

Baccarelli "cherry-picked and misrepresented study results and refused to acknowledge the role of genetics in the etiology" of autism and ADHD, Cote wrote in her opinion.

Appellate proceedings concerning the dismissal of the case are ongoing in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a statement obtained by Scripps News, Baccarelli the current dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health confirmed he consulted with the Trump administration ahead of its autism announcement. But he also distanced himself slightly from the conclusions suggested by Trump and his health officials that there was a definitive causal link between Tylenol use in pregnancy and autism.

"[E]evidence lends support to the possibility of a causal relationship between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism," Baccarelli said. "Further research is needed to confirm the association and determine causality, but based on existing evidence, I believe that caution about acetaminophen use during pregnancy especially heavy or prolonged use is warranted."

Yet in his expert report provided in the Johnson & Johnson lawsuit, Baccarelli provided no such cautions.

"Substantial evidence supports a strong, positive, causal association between acetaminophen and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs) particularly AttentionDeficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and their related symptoms," he wrote.

It's not unusual for researchers to provide expert testimony in these sorts of lawsuits, experts say, but that Baccarelli was paid $150,000 by a group suing Tylenol's manufacturer over supposed autism links raises greater scrutiny into the veracity of his research.

Already, dozens of medical and public health groups have decried the Trump administrations claims on acetaminophen and Tylenol, while the drugs current manufacturer, Kenvue, says it's safe and disagree[s] with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned about the health risks and confusion this poses for expecting mothers and parents.

Baccarelli did not immediately respond to inquiries from Scripps News about the lawsuit, his testimony or the White House event.

RELATED STORY | Trump links Tylenol in pregnancy to autism despite contested science

Asked about Baccarellis participation in the lawsuit, a White House official pointed to other recent studies that have identified a potential link between prenatal acetaminophen use and neurological disorders.

Him being a paid witness or not, like, there are other studies here by people who are not paid witnesses, the official, who declined to speak on the record, told Scripps News.

Indeed, at least two studies conducted in recent years have identified a possible association between acetaminophen use and autism, though decades of past research including a 2024 study of 2.5 million children found no such link. Medical experts have also cautioned that correlation between Tylenol use and autism does not equate to causation, and that other confounding factors may be at play.

Trumps remarks during Mondays announcement, meanwhile, went far beyond the conclusions of his medical advisors.

Whereas the official letter sent by the Food and Drug Administration to physicians urged them to consider minimizing the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy for routine low-grade fevers, Trump repeatedly told pregnant women: Dont take it.

Pressed on those comments, White House official said Trump obviously has his own speaking style and his own communication style, that's what makes him the authentic character he is.

RELATED STORY | OB-GYN pushes back on Trumps Tylenol-autism claims, citing lack of evidence