Administration revoked proposed nursing‑home staffing rule after industry donations

The Trump administration revoked a proposed rule that would have required higher minimum staffing levels at nursing homes after executives in the industry donated nearly $4.8 million to MAGA Inc. and privately met with the president, The New York Times reported. According to the report, donations began in early August and, later that month, several of the largest donors joined industry lobbyists for a lunch with Mr.

Trump at his golf club in suburban Washington to urge repeal. Less than a month after the meeting, Justice Department lawyers stopped defending the rule in court; a few months later the White House approved a full revocation and the Department of Health and Human Services issued a statement that echoed industry talking points.

Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, called the move a “common-sense, anti-red tape policy decision.” Patient and consumer groups said the rule was needed to prevent neglect and urged higher staffing standards. The Times noted that, by one estimate, the staffing rule could have saved about 13,000 nursing‑home residents a year, and that nonpartisan government analysts expected roughly $22 billion in additional state and federal support over 10 years to help meet the standard.

The Times also reported that there is no evidence directly linking the donations or the lunch to the decision to scrap the rule, and that the rule’s prospects were already uncertain before the August meeting. Justice Department and H.H.S.