Trump speaks and signs executive order to advance kidney health

July 10, 2019

President Trump is delivering a speech and signing an executive order to advance kidney health in America, a somewhat offbeat topic for him to address. The president is delivering the speech at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in D.C.

The topic has a personal connection for the president. First Lady Melania Trump was hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center for several days in May 2018 for what the White House described as a benign kidney condition.

Specifically, Mr. Trump is directing the government to revamp the nation’s care for kidney disease, so that more people whose kidneys fail have a chance at early transplants and home dialysis — along with better prevention so patients don’t get that sick to begin with.

Senior administration officials told The Associated Press that Mr. Trump is set to sign an executive order Wednesday calling for strategies that have the potential to save lives and millions of Medicare dollars. That won’t happen overnight — some of the initiatives will require new government regulations.

The president’s address on kidney health comes as his administration faces intense scrutiny over the president’s past friendship with indicted billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, and Labor Secretary Alex Acosta’s handling of a past case involving Epstein. Epstein’s latest arrest over sex trafficking charges have renewed criticism of Acosta, and shed light on Mr. Trump’s past interactions with Epstein. Mr. Trump told reporters Tuesday he approves of Acosta’s job as labor secretary, but also claimed his administration will be looking very “carefully” at Acosta’s handling of the previous Epstein case.