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Tom Howell Jr.

Tom Howell Jr.

Tom Howell Jr. covers politics and the White House for The Washington Times. He can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2014 file photo, Brenda Fitzgerald, Georgia Department of Public Health commissioner, left, and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal respond to questions in Atlanta. Fitzgerald, the new director of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has kept a low profile during her five months in office, due to conflicts of interest regarding her financial holdings. In an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, Dec. 11, 2017, Fitzgerald said her conflicts of interest are settled and she’s moving forward with plans for the agency. (AP Photo/David Tulis, File)

CDC to Dems: We don’t ban words, though try to avoid some

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention didn't ban any words under President Trump but directed staff to avoid words like "vulnerable," "diversity," and "entitlement" in budget requests, the agency told Senate Democrats. Published January 9, 2018

Alex Azar testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, to consider his nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Alex Azar, HHS pick, cautious on drug price jawboning

Powerless to stop his nomination, Senate Democrats on Tuesday attacked President Trump's pick to lead the Health and Human Services Department for his tenure at a major pharmaceutical company, saying he oversaw dramatic price hikes without ever blessing a decrease. Published January 9, 2018

Alex Azar, President Donald Trump's nominee to become Secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) **FILE**

Donald Trump, GOP seek actions to undercut Obamacare

President Trump and his GOP allies are charting a new course in their push to undercut Obamacare, kicking off 2018 by eyeing actions the administration can take on its own, while avoiding a messy congressional fight ahead of the November elections. Published January 8, 2018

Alex Azar, President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 29, 2017. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Pro-Obamacare group attacks HHS pick before hearing

A pro-Obamacare group told senators to reject President Trump's nominee to lead the Health and Human Services Department in an ad Monday that says Alex Azar will quarterback renewed efforts to gut the 2010 law. Published January 8, 2018

People watch a TV news program showing the Twitter post of U.S. President Donald Trump while reporting North Korea's nuclear issue, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. Trump boasted that he has a bigger and more powerful "nuclear button" than North Korean leader Kim Jong Un does but the president doesn't actually have a physical button. The letters on the screen read: "More powerful nuclear button." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

CDC to hold roundtable on health response to nuclear attack

Federal agencies this month will hold a roundtable on how to respond a nuclear attack as part of a regular series on public health, raising eyebrows as President Trump needles North Korea over his "bigger and more powerful" nuclear-launch button. Published January 5, 2018

In this undated image provided on Saturday Aug. 29, 2015 by Mount Sinai Hospital in New York shows Dr Vivek Reddy as he checks the screen while doing a surgery to implant the new tiny wireless pacemaker at the Mount Sinai hospital in New York . Unlike traditional pacemakers — which need a generator and wires and are implanted via surgery — the new pacemaker is a wireless tiny tube that can be attached to the right side of the heart using a catheter inserted through the leg. (Mount Sinai Hospital via AP)

New ads pressure Congress to scrap medical-device tax

One of Obamacare's more hated taxes came roaring back in 2018 after Congress failed to delay the medical device tax in its year-end legislating, sparking a backlash from the industry which demanded lawmakers put it at the front of their 2018 to-do list. Published January 5, 2018

In North Carolina, a new law will prevent doctors from prescribing more than five days' worth of pain pills for things like broken bones; patients will need approval for refills. It's meant to combat the opioid epidemic. (Associated Press)

Pain pill limits, live-stream attack penalties among new laws for 2018

Those who record or live-stream attacks will face tougher penalties in California, dry cleaners in Illinois will think twice before charging women more than men and New York will launch "the nation's strongest" paid family leave program as the calendar flips to 2018. Published December 31, 2017

Storm clouds are seen over the West Wing of the White House as a cold front passes through the area, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Weather Channel tweaks Trump for ‘global warming’ tweet

The Weather Channel threw shade at President Trump on Friday for conflating a spate of cold weather in the eastern U.S. with the broader effects of climate change in his tweet about "that good old global warming." Published December 29, 2017

This image released by NBC shows contestant Rachel Frederickson during the first episode of "The Biggest Loser." Fredrickson lost nearly 60 percent of her body weight to win the latest season of “The Biggest Loser” and pocket $250,000. A day after her grand unveiling on NBC, she faced a firestorm of criticism in social media from people who said she went too far. (AP Photo/NBC, Trae Patton) ** FILE **

CDC paper: Few schools use proven programs to combat obesity

Hardly any U.S. public schools are implementing evidence-based programs to combat obesity despite the substantial amount of research that's gone into developing them, according to a paper published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Published December 28, 2017

President Donald Trump turns to talk to the gathered media during a Christmas Eve video teleconference with members of the mIlitary at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Nearly half of Republicans think Trump repealed Obamacare: Poll

More than four in 10 Republicans think President Trump repealed Obamacare, even though much of the 2010 law remains intact after GOP efforts to repeal and replace it fell short this past year, according to a new poll. Published December 28, 2017

In this Feb. 11, 2016, file photo, Dallas County Mosquito Lab microbiologist Spencer Lockwood sorts mosquitoes collected in a trap in Hutchins, Texas, that had been set up in Dallas County near the location of a confirmed Zika virus infection. (AP Photo/LM Otero, file)

Number of Zika virus cases dropped dramatically

Zika has largely "burnt out" in the Americas, health experts say, with the disease that just a year ago spawned dire travel warnings, changed vacation plans and almost forced a federal government shutdown now dissipating with a whimper. Published December 27, 2017

The HealthCare.gov website is photographed in Washington on Dec. 15, 2017. A burst of sign-ups is punctuating the end of a tumultuous year for former President Barack Obamas health care law. Strong consumer interest around Fridays enrollment deadline for 2018 was seen as validation for the programs subsidized individual health insurance. But the Affordable Care Acts troubles arent over. Even if full repeal now seems off the table, actions by the Republican-led Congress and the Trump administration could undermine the ACAs insurance markets. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick

Idaho reports 95K in Obamacare signups

Nearly 95,000 Idahoans selected a 2018 health plan on the state's Obamacare exchange -- a drop from last year's tally that nonetheless thrilled state officials, citing headwinds from Washington, and adds to previously reported totals from dozens of states that used the federal HealthCare.gov website. Published December 27, 2017

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie walks on the stage after President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump spoke on combating drug demand and the opioid crisis in this Oct. 26, 2017, file photo in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) ** FILE **

Opioid epidemic fighters aim to break addiction stigma

As federal and state leaders try to catch up with the opioids crisis, analysts say too many people still treat drug addiction as a personal failing instead of a disease and that it's keeping too many Americans from getting the help they need. Published December 25, 2017

"We're going to have tremendous Democrat support on infrastructure," President Trump said, but Democrats said Republicans blew the $1 trillion needed to rebuild America's crumbling roads, bridges and rails on their tax cut bill. (Associated Press/File)

Donald Trump seeks Democrats’ help with infrastructure plan

The White House on Sunday said President Trump wants to introduce an infrastructure package in January and reach for a deal with Democrats, a pivot toward bipartisanship after Republican-only efforts on health care and taxes produced mixed results this year. Published December 24, 2017