INV-032 · Money & ethics · Donors and policy
Staffing rule repealed after nursing-home donations
Stage 1 of 5: Reported · News reporting only · Last development 27 Jan 2026
Starting in August 2025, nursing-home companies and executives gave about $4.8 million to MAGA Inc., including $750,000 from PruittHealth and $750,000 reported for Ensign Group, according to The New York Times and other outlets. Later that month the largest donors met Trump at his golf club near Washington and urged him to repeal the 2024 minimum-staffing rule. The administration then stopped defending the rule in court, and CMS repealed its staffing minimums in an interim final rule published 3 December 2025.
The timing comes from news reports. No official finding links the donations to the repeal. Before the August meeting, two federal courts (Texas in April 2025 and Iowa in June 2025) had vacated the rule's core requirements, and the 2025 budget law (H.R. 1) barred enforcing it until 2034. CMS cited both when it rescinded the rule, and an industry figure argued the rule was 'already dead.'
- People
- Donald Trump, Bill Weisberg, Clifton J. Porter II
- Agencies
- HHS
- Reviewed by
- Press
Money involved
- $4.8 million Nursing-home industry to MAGA Inc. (Donations from people with business before the government, estimate) [4]
Timeline
The New York Times published 'After Donations, Trump Administration Revoked Rule Requiring More Nursing Home Staff.' [3]
CMS published an interim final rule repealing the 2024 rule's numerical staffing minimums and its 24/7 RN requirement, effective 2 February 2026. CMS cited the H.R. 1 moratorium, the court rulings and burdens on rural and Tribal facilities. [2]
The Center for Medicare Advocacy noted that the repeal left in place the 2024 rule's enhanced facility-assessment requirement. [7]
Less than a month after the lunch, administration lawyers stopped defending the staffing rule against industry lawsuits. [3]
Ensign Group gave MAGA Inc. $750,000, according to Hunterbrook citing an FEC filing. Hunterbrook disclosed that its affiliate is short Ensign stock. Skilled Nursing News, summarizing the NYT, said subsidiaries of Ensign were among the top donors. [6]
PruittHealth gave MAGA Inc. $750,000. Smaller gifts included $100,000 each from Reliance Health Care, Northshore Health and Teddy Price of Central Management. About 40 nursing-home-linked entities gave nearly $4.8 million from August to mid-September. [4]
Top donors and industry lobbyists, including AHCA/NCAL chief Clifton J. Porter II, had lunch with Trump at his golf club outside Washington. Saber Healthcare CEO Bill Weisberg told the NYT that the group 'urged the president to formally repeal the harmful minimum staffing mandate.' [4]
The US District Court for the Northern District of Iowa vacated the rule's 24/7 registered-nurse requirement and its minimum staffing hours. [1]
A federal district court in Texas vacated the minimum staffing mandate. [2]
Responses
- White House spokesperson: Dismissed the corruption claims and called the repeal a "commonsense, anti-red tape policy decision." [4]
- HHS: Said the 2024 staffing rule "disproportionately burdened facilities," especially those serving rural and Tribal communities. [2]
- AHCA/NCAL (spokesperson Rachel Reeves): Said the group "appreciated the opportunity to speak with the president directly," stressed that it is nonpartisan, and denied that the lunch focused on the staffing rule. Skilled Nursing News noted that other attendees described it differently. [5]
- Mark Parkinson, former AHCA/NCAL chief: Said the mandate was "already dead" before the August meeting because of court rulings and the congressional moratorium. [5]
Sources
Cite this case
Public Trust Tracker. "Staffing rule repealed after nursing-home donations" (INV-032). Last updated 27 Jan 2026. https://publictrusttracker.org/case/inv-032-staffing-rule-repealed-after-nursing-home-donations/
Suggest a fact check