Congress
Advocate of psychedelic drugs wants to work with RFK Jr.
An evangelist for treating mental health disorders with psychedelic drugs whom President Joe Biden appointed to a top job at the VA wants to join forces with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Dr. Shereef Elnahal told Blue Light News his own interest in the drugs dovetails with that of Kennedy, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, and that he wants to continue overseeing the health portfolio at the VA.
“I haven’t been asked to stay, but if I am asked, I would stay,” Elnahal told Blue Light News. “I’d be honored to continue on and advance the agenda for veterans.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs runs the largest health system in the country, serving more than 9 million veterans.
Elnahal’s popular among veterans and psychedelics advocates, who say they are making calls this week to encourage lawmakers to lobby Trump to keep Elnahal on.
The odds of that are long. Trump has largely tapped loyalists and celebrities to staff his administration.
While Trump hasn’t publicly commented on psychedelics, Elnahal is heartened by what he’s heard from Kennedy, who has openly criticized the Food and Drug Administration’s approach to regulating the mind-altering drugs. The FDA this summer rejected a drugmaker’s application to offer the psychedelic drug MDMA, alongside therapy, as a post-traumatic stress disorder treatment.
“The public statements from Bobby Kennedy on this have been very encouraging,” Elnahal said.
Kennedy said his mind was open “to the idea of psychedelics for treatment,” in a post to X in September, adding that “People ought to have the freedom and the liberty to experiment with these hallucinogens to overcome debilitating disorders.”
Still, some are skeptical that the hype around psychedelic medicine has outpaced the science behind it, and worry that the drugs could be misused or could put patients at risk.
The incoming administration has the chance to push psychedelic therapy forward, Elnahal argued, and he wants to be a part of that. If he remains in his role at VA, he said he’d advance the field by growing the agency’s psychedelics research portfolio and, if there’s White House and veteran support, expand the use of psychedelic therapy for veterans in safe settings, alongside ongoing clinical trials.
“I really appreciate Bobby Kennedy’s approach to trying to instill wellness as a bigger part of American life — I think veterans would benefit from that,” Elnahal said, adding, “When it comes to breakthrough therapies for mental health and tackling veteran suicide, psychedelics fall straight into that agenda.”
Why it matters: A year ago, the VA announced it would fund psychedelic research on post-traumatic stress disorder and depression for the first time since the 1960s.
In addition to being the largest health system in the country, the VA serves a population with disproportionately high PTSD rates. Nearly 17 veterans die each day by suicide, according to the VA.
Thousands of veterans, many of whom have PTSD or depression, travel to other countries to seek psychedelic-assisted therapy each year.
Given that, Elnahal thinks the United States should be offering those therapies in well-controlled settings.
“The only way to do that is to boldly approach this with more research and to give veterans access to this kind of therapy here at home,” he said. “You shouldn’t have to travel to Mexico. You shouldn’t have to travel to Costa Rica. We really need a line of sight into this type of therapy to make sure that it’s effective.”
“The incoming administration has the right mindset on developing that evidence and delivering it safely to veterans,” he added.
What’s next: The VA’s research will continue regardless of whether Elnahal keeps his job. Studies are ongoing and millions of dollars in VA-funded psychedelics research are slated to be awarded next year.
But if Trump replaces Elnahal, those who have worked with the undersecretary say it will take more effort to advance psychedelics without him.
Donald Trump is talking about what appeared to be a warm moment between him and Barack Obama.
Trump concedes the pair did seem to be on friendly terms when cameras captured them chatting, and Obama laughing as they sat next to each other Thursday at the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.
The president-elect was asked about it later in a Fox News interview from his home in Florida.
“It did look very friendly, I must say,” Trump said. “I didn’t realize how friendly it looked. I saw it on your wonderful network, just a little while ago before I came in and I said ‘Boy, they look like two people that like each other.’ And we probably do,” he said.
Trump didn’t say what he and Obama were talking about in the viral moment.
“We have little different philosophies, right? I don’t know, we just got along. But I got along with everybody on that. You know we met backstage before we went on, and I thought it was a beautiful service, but we all got along very well.”
Trump answered questions from Fox News’ Peter Doocy for roughly 20 minutes ahead of the president-elect’s meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago.
He again criticized state and local officials in California for their handling of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles and reiterated his interest in Greenland and making Canada into the 51st state.
He didn’t have an answer on whether he supported the Biden administration’s talks with the Taliban for the release of Americans held in Afghanistan, saying he would be looking into it on Friday. Asked about recent mysterious drone sightings, he vowed to release a report the day after his inauguration “because I think it’s ridiculous they’re not telling you about the drones.”
Trump also said his team is working on scheduling meetings with several foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. He said his team has also been in communication with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Donald Trump has picked Fox News contributor Leo Terrell to serve as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department, Harmeet K. Dhillon.
Trump said Terrell, a civil rights attorney and talk radio host in California, will work closely alongside Dhillon, a former vice chair of the California GOP who represented the state on the Republican National Committee.
The president-elect also announced that former Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown would be taking a position at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Trump called Terrell a “highly respected civil rights attorney and political analyst” and said in a statement Thursday that he will be a “fantastic advocate for the American People.”
Fox contributors set to join the new administration also include Tammy Bruce, Trump’s pick for State Department spokesperson, and Pete Hegseth, his choice to lead the Pentagon.
The president-elect also announced Thursday that he was tapping Brown to be undersecretary for memorial affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Brown, a Purple Heart recipient with a captivating personal story, narrowly lost the Nevada Senate race to incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen in November.
“He fearlessly proved his love for our Country in the Army, while leading Troops in battle in Afghanistan and, after being honorably retired as a Captain, helping our Veterans get access to emergency medications,” Trump said in a statement. “Sam will now continue his service to our Great Nation at the VA, where he will work tirelessly to ensure we put America’s Veterans FIRST, and remember ALL who served.”
Congress
Trump’s pick for Sweden ambassador didn’t clear the Senate when he nominated her the last time
Donald Trump is trying again with Christine Jack Toretti — this time nominating her to serve as the next ambassador to Sweden.
During his last administration, Trump tapped Toretti, a businesswoman and GOP fundraiser, as his pick to become the ambassador to Malta. The Senate never confirmed her, returning her nomination in 2019 and again in 2020, with Democrats questioning the quality of some of Trump’s nominees. Toretti at the time was reported to have had a restraining order filed against her for allegedly putting a bullet-riddled target sheet in the office of her ex-husband’s doctor.
In a statement Thursday, Trump called Toretti an “incredible businesswoman, philanthropist, public servant, and RNC Committeewoman for the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” touting her lengthy resume, including her role as chair of S&T Bancorp and as the former director of the Pittsburgh Federal Reserve Bank.
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- Meet Ken Nahigian, RFK Jr.’s guide to Congress
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