Jen Burch

Live to Inspire • @POTUS 47 appointee • Health Policy • GW MPH Candidate • @UofDenver Alumni • USAF veteran • Golf • Personal Account

[Bishop Robert Barron @BishopBarron]

Friends, on this Veterans Day, we offer our prayers for all who have served in our nation’s armed forces. We thank them and their families for their selfless sacrifices. May God bless them.

[VA Secretary Doug Collins @SecVetAffairs]

America was founded by those who were willing to stand up and fight for it. Today, we say thank you to the men and women who have protected our country for 250 years.

Read my op-ed here: https://t.co/idqjZsaOPq

[Veterans Affairs @DeptVetAffairs]

We wouldn’t have a country without our Veterans. Happy Veterans Day to all who raised their right hand to serve! 🇺🇸 🦅

[Veterans Affairs @DeptVetAffairs]

Happy Birthday to the U.S. Marine Corps!

Today we celebrate the Marines who protect the air, land, and sea across the globe.

Semper Fidelis

[HHS @HHSGov]

Under President Trump’s leadership, the Administration is establishing new government-wide standards to prevent the misuse of synthetic DNA and other biotechnology tools.

Working with @NIST and @USDA, HHS will help ensure synthetic biology suppliers meet rigorous, independently verified screening standards — safeguarding scientific innovation while reducing the risk of dangerous biological research.

[National Park Service @NatlParkService]

As Veterans Day approaches, take a moment to honor those who have served our country. One way to celebrate their service is by helping them discover the places and stories that make our nation's public lands special.

U.S. military veterans and Gold Star Families are eligible for a free America the Beautiful Military Lifetime Pass, providing free access to federal recreation lands where entrance or standard amenity fees are charged.

From the quiet beauty of a mountain trail to the stories preserved at historic sites, our public lands offer opportunities to explore, reflect, learn, and connect with the places that help tell America's story.

Learn how to get your pass and start planning your next adventure: https://t.co/q0WaKb94pP

[JD Vance @JDVance]

One of the things the data analysts on our side obsessed over was "composition"—whether the electorate looked close enough to 2024 for Republicans to win. And despite polls that showed a Democrat blowout, the data kept on telling us the same story: in some states turnout was merely OK, in other states it was downright amazing, and in no state was it catastrophic. There was a genuine sense of optimism on our team: our people were showing up.

So, I asked the smartest data guy I know, does that mean we're going to shock the world? "No," he told me. "We might do better than the polls suggest. But the data is telling us that a lot of Trump/Vance 2024 voters are pissed and planning to vote for the other guys. Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us."

Well, that looks prophetic now. Our voters did show up. In Florida, for example, the electorate was 9 points more Republican than Democrat, just a couple points worse than 2024. Undoubtedly there were places we could have done better on turnout. But the main problem is not turnout. The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026.

There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is. One of the pollsters I really respect told me that our economic messaging wasn’t sharp enough down the stretch. I’m sure that’s true.

But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone.

Another pollster—one of the smartest people I know in politics, told me yesterday we’d lose the generic ballot by 13 points. I felt negative going into Tuesday, but even I was shocked by this. In his polling, he saw that a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats. He asked those voters who had abandoned us what would cause them to come back on our team. The top four answers, accounting for nearly all of the responses were:

1) End the war
2) Focus on cost of living/inflation
3) Put America First
4) Change our relationship to Israel

Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. This is according to a pollster who nailed the results. While many spent Monday attacking Rachel Campos Duffy for calling for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, it turns out her political advice was sound. (She’s also a great person.)

In the next few months, there's going to be a lot of gaslighting. Expect to hear any number of establishment politicians say the solution to our woes is amnesty. I'm open to the idea that we should change enforcement—by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance. But anyone pushing amnesty is lying to you.

The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night.

If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest.

But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.

I remain hopeful about our country. To the people who are pissed off and want to say, “I told you so”: you’re right, you did tell us so. Take that energy into electing Republicans who share your worldview. To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be. Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country.

[Bishop Robert Barron @BishopBarron]

“When the soul enters the kingdom of the blessed, and the barrier which hinders its sight is taken away, it will see openly and without a veil the infinite beauty of God; and this will be the joy of the blessed. Every object that the soul then will see in God Himself will overwhelm it with delight. . . . Happy from their first entrance into heaven, they continue, as it were, lost and, so to say, swallowed up in love, in that boundless ocean of the goodness of God. . . . And knowing that it is sure of ever loving Him, and of being ever loved by Him, this very thing will be its blessedness, which will fill it with joy, and will make it throughout eternity so satisfied with delight that it will desire nothing more.”—St. Alphonsus Liguori

[Jen Burch @_jenburch]

Happy Halloween from our little @SpaceX Astronaut! Thanks to @elonmusk for inspiring new generations! 🚀

[Sam Brown @SamBrownUSA]

Is it real? Yes.

An open opportunity to directly work with and support an Under Secretary in DC is rare.

Do your research on the mission and leadership.

If you want to compete for this opportunity, apply before the application closes.

Duty First! 🇺🇸🫡

[Madhava Setty @Madhava_Setty]

The "Close your Eyes. We'll Immunize" program at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is one of several hospital systems that are implementing this tactic to increase vaccine uptake.

@ChildrensHD published an article on this today:
https://t.co/CpWd3GMemk

Two very important points:
1) The children in this program were vaccinated under anesthesia after consent from parents was obtained. My best guess was, of course, that consent was most likely not given from a properly informed position.

2) Though it may be easy to regard the medical professionals who are involved in this program as "evil" people whose intention is to harm, the problem is much worse. These folks COMPLETELY BELIEVE they are doing the right thing which makes them even more motivated to persist in their insanity. Further, they are in a nearly impenetrable echo chamber. I know. I work in one. While most of the medical professionals I work with everyday will never agree to have another modRNA shot, they still do not hesitate to get flu vaccines despite their deplorable effectiveness and common side effects.

Folks who work in health care believe they are part of a wall between diseases and the population they serve. Vaccines are the armor they must wear even if those they seek to protect refuse to get one. It's part of their identity.

If we truly want to liberate the public from the vaccine myth we have to change the minds of medical professionals. There's no way around that in my view.

Suggestions?

[Madhava Setty @Madhava_Setty]

I'm a Board Certified anesthesiologist and have been in practice for 24 years. I just learned that the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where I trained has launched a program to increase flu vaccine uptake among children by vaccinating them while under anesthesia.

The program is called "Close your Eyes. We'll Immunize"

This is stunningly irresponsible. Here's why:

Anesthetists are extremely risk avoidant and endeavor to minimize patient exposure to anything which carries potential side effects. This is particularly true of pediatric patients who very often have never been exposed to anesthetic medications. We simply cannot know how an individual child will respond to these drugs for the first time.

Every single medication we administer during an operation can potentially trigger untoward or allergic responses. When this occurs our primary responsibility is to stabilize the patient. Our secondary responsibility is to identify the offending agent. There is absolutely no justification of introducing another agent, in this case a flu vaccine, which carries a risk of harm and contributes nothing to the success of the operation.

Some of the more common side effects of flu vaccines are fever (11-16%) and less commonly, a rash (1%). There is also an non-zero risk of severe allergic reactions and high-grade fevers which can develop over the course of minutes.

What if a child under anesthesia receives a vaccine and develops a rash and/or fever? Is it from the antibiotic that the surgeon requested? Is it from the narcotic? The anxiolytic? The barbiturate?

Anesthetic gases can also (rarely) trigger a life threatening response called Malignant Hyperthermia which commonly presents as a high fever. Without subsequent testing we cannot know which agent was responsible. Most commonly the testing is never done and the child’s record will forever reflect the possibility that some or all of the drugs which were used are responsible for their reaction. This makes future anesthetic care significantly more challenging and will require the use of alternatives which may not be necessary.

Advocating for a flu vaccine while a child is anesthetized reflects the pervasive yet inaccurate attitude among the medical establishment that vaccines are perfectly safe. I simply cannot believe that my mentors would have ever supported this initiative when I was a resident there. Close your eyes indeed.

[First Lady Melania Trump @FLOTUS]

First Lady Melania Trump’s 5 PILLARS OF WOMENS HEALTH INNOVATION //

1. Direct research funding towards finding cures that affect women in a disproportionate and unique way.  

2. Use super intelligence to enhance our insight of female biology and speed up medical discoveries.

3. Accelerate the process of getting promising therapeutics from laboratories to female patients, while maintaining strict safety standards.  

4. Ensure that medical breakthroughs are accessible and affordable to women, regardless of their financial circumstances.  

5. Replace generations of silence with open conversation, education, and compassion surrounding women’s health.

[VA Secretary Doug Collins @SecVetAffairs]

There's a new, free, and optional way to sign in to https://t.co/3lQel8dk5w: CLEAR, which uses face ID or other recognition tools to get you into your account in seconds.

Get started at https://t.co/kzCJqsRmQG

[Brian Blase @brian_blase]

CMS's decision to remove 760,000 ACA marketplace enrollments that showed overwhelming signs of being phantom enrollees was commonsense, good government. These enrollees had no SSN, $0 premium (it was fully subsidized), $0 claims, and no contact with their insurer. And @CMSGov required insurers to try to contact them in multiple ways before disenrollment.

And if they actually removed a legitimate enrollee who met all these criteria, that person could contact the exchange and get re-enrolled.

Again, commonsense actions to restore integrity to a program that became overrun with fraud and improper enrollment during the Biden administration.

I estimated 1% of these enrollments might be real. Turns out it is <0.01%!

[Veterans Affairs @DeptVetAffairs]

From serving our country to taking flight in a new career. 🇺🇸

Vets to Drones is helping Veterans turn their military experience into opportunities in the growing drone industry.

Read how: https://t.co/xJl5XHXRHD

[Cardinal Dolan @CardinalDolan]

There’s not a leader in the past immune to criticism except Jesus. But I tell you this – the virtue of Christopher Columbus is towering. Happy Columbus Day, everybody! @thegnewsroom

[VA Secretary Doug Collins @SecVetAffairs]

Government shouldn’t require a degree in bureaucracy to navigate it. 

https://t.co/5ybFiDrtXD gives Americans a new place to find information and services across the federal government.

[Veterans Affairs @DeptVetAffairs]

On Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day, we remember those who carry on with pride and resolve after the ultimate price of freedom was paid by their loved one.

[HHS Rapid Response @HHSResponse]

American children deserve real, nutritious food from the very start.

@SecKennedy is delivering a historic $89 MILLION investment to strengthen nutrition in Head Start programs across the country—bringing more nutrient-dense food to children during the most important years of their development.

Healthy kids start with healthy food. 🇺🇸