A coalition of Democratic governors announced Monday the creation of a new interstate partnership aimed at coordinating public health efforts and information sharing, a move they say is necessary because the Trump administration has failed to provide consistent national leadership.
The Governors Public Health Alliance, billed as a “nonpartisan coordinating hub,” will focus on joint messaging about health threats, emergency preparedness, and evidence-based public health policy. Its initial members are the governors of 15 Democratic-led states and Guam.
“At a time when the federal government is telling the states, ‘you’re on your own,’ governors are banding together,” said Maryland Gov. Wes Moore in a statement.
The launch comes amid renewed partisan clashes over public health, particularly following Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to make COVID-19 vaccinations a matter of “personal choice” rather than recommending them nationally.
Republican officials have praised Kennedy’s approach as a return to “freedom-based health policy,” while Democrats argue it has left states without critical federal coordination.
Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Democratic governors “who imposed school closures and mask mandates, including for toddlers, at the height of the pandemic, are the ones who destroyed public trust in public health.”
“The Trump Administration and Secretary Kennedy are rebuilding that trust by grounding every policy in rigorous evidence and Gold Standard Science — not the failed politics of the pandemic,” Nixon said.
Among the alliance’s founding members are governors of major blue states — California’s Gavin Newsom, New York’s Kathy Hochul, Illinois’ JB Pritzker, and Maryland’s Moore — several of whom are widely viewed as potential 2028 presidential contenders.
The governors say the new alliance builds on earlier regional cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic, when blue states banded together to share medical supplies and data as the federal response faltered.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, who served as CDC director under President Joe Biden and is among the alliance’s advisers, said the partnership is critical to maintaining preparedness.
“The CDC did provide an important backstop for expertise and support,” Cohen said. “Now with some of that gone, it’s important for states to make sure that they are sharing best practices and coordinating, because the problems have not gone away.”
The alliance is supported by GovAct, a donor-funded nonprofit that also backs initiatives related to democracy protection and reproductive rights. Organizers emphasized that the new effort will complement, not replace, coordination already done by existing bodies such as the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
