The MT Lowdown is a weekly digest that showcases a more personal side of Montana Free Press’ high-quality reporting while keeping you up to speed on the biggest news impacting Montanans. Want to see the MT Lowdown in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here.
A federal judge in Massachusetts this week blocked changes to routine vaccine recommendations made by the Trump administration, including the recent overhaul of the expert panel that sets those guidelines in the first place.
In a 45-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy sided with a group of plaintiffs that includes major medical organizations. Among other things, the lawsuit argued that the recent changes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, would unleash “devastating consequences” on the nation’s public health systems, “far beyond when and to whom a vaccine may be administered.”
The government’s recommendations, the plaintiffs pointed out, have long set the course for how state governments, insurance companies and health care providers approach vaccines, including the routine schedule for young children. By changing the membership of ACIP and issuing sudden changes without typical scientific review, the plaintiffs said, the Trump administration had thrown that interconnected system into disarray.
“These actions set into motion a vaccine policy that disrupts multiple parts of the American health care ecosystem,” the plaintiffs argued in a January court filing.
In his ruling this week, Judge Murphy agreed that the recent changes from the federal government — particularly the CDC’s decision in January to reduce the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccines — had been “arbitrary and capricious.” Murphy’s ruling invalidated the revised schedule, the Trump administration’s new ACIP appointments and all the votes taken by the panel since its members were replaced. The federal government, meanwhile, has vowed to appeal the ruling.
Murphy’s decision has been blasted by prominent figures and national groups that have pushed for the U.S. to step away from robust vaccine recommendations. Simultaneously, the ruling Monday was widely celebrated by medical groups and public health advocates, including those in Montana.
Anne Langdji read the news about Murphy’s ruling from Helena and breathed a sigh of relief. A co-director of Montana Families for Vaccines, the state chapter of a high-powered national advocacy group, Langdji has been closely tracking the evolving federal rules around vaccine recommendations — and thinking about how the shifting guidelines are affecting Montana families.
“This disruption is unfortunate because it makes people less trusting of the federal government,” Langdji said in a recent interview with Montana Free Press. “Most people don’t know what ACIP is, and shouldn’t have to. They should just be able to trust that the government is using the best science to make recommendations that everyone can trust.”
Since the Trump administration took office and began shaking up standard practices for vaccines at ACIP and the CDC, at least 30 states have turned elsewhere for scientific advice on immunizations. More often than not, those states have decided to pick up their queues on childhood vaccines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, a national medical association and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the government.
Montana is not among the states now consulting AAP for vaccine guidance. According to Langdji, that makes the federal court’s freezing of the recent CDC changes even more influential.
After Monday’s ruling, Langdji said, she’s been refreshing the CDC’s website to see if the agency has complied with Murphy’s directions to revert to earlier guidances. As of midday on Friday, after the federal government had vowed to appeal Murphy’s ruling, the website remained unchanged.
While the recommendations remain stuck in limbo, Langdji said, so too do Montana families looking to the federal government for sound medical advice.
“They’ve got the bullhorn,” Langdji said. That means that, for her group and other vaccine advocates, she added, “there’s just a lot of work to do.”
— Mara Silvers
By the Numbers 🔢
The number of Libertarian candidates in Montana seeking election this year. With candidates, all under the age of 50, on the ballot for every federal office, plus the state Legislature, Montana Libertarians are having a moment.
Libertarian candidate interest is up, party leaders say, with four candidates running for federal office and five for the state Legislature. They expect to appeal to voters weary of increased government spending and wars undeclared by Congress. Congress hasn’t actually declared war since World War II.
In 2025, the party hired a lobbyist to pursue its priorities at the Montana Legislature, including the Libertarian-backed Defend the Guard Act. The bill prohibiting the deployment of the Montana Guard unless Congress makes the call is endorsed by a coalition of grassroots supporters and carried by Rep. Lee Deming, a Laurel Republican.
Despite the bill failing to pass the Legislature, Liam McCollum, Montana Libertarian vice chair, said the party’s work on the Defend the Guard Act shows its tripartisan approach. The legislation secured the support of Ryan Busse, Montana’s 2024 Democratic candidate for governor, and U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy, a Republican. Sheehy committed to a national version of the legislation.
Small in number, Libertarians are classified as a “major party” in Montana, meaning they don’t have to petition to get on the ballot. That designation comes from receiving at least 15,000 votes in a previous statewide race, a threshold defined as at least 5% of the total votes cast for Gov. Greg Gianforte in 2024. In raw votes, the party’s best draw in 2024 was for Montana secretary of state, in which John Lamb received 18,500 votes.
READ MORE HERE: Is Montana having a Libertarian moment?
— Tom Lutey
Happenings 🗓️
Montana is known as the last best place, but where in the state is the best, best place? The Montana Historical Society is asking Montanans to weigh in via a “Montana Madness”-style bracket.
The bracket features 16 iconic Montana locations, from the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park to the Fort Peck Dam in eastern Montana and First Peoples Buffalo Jump in Ulm. Voting began on March 9 and continues weekly until a winner is determined. The winning site will receive copies of “A History of Montana in 101 Places,” a display in the recently opened Montana Heritage Center and a custom trophy.
So, what do you think is the best, best place? This week’s matchups include the Going-to-the-Sun Road vs. Three Forks of the Missouri, Lewis and Clark Caverns vs. Fort Benton, the pictograph cave near Billings vs. Bannack State Park and First Peoples Buffalo Jump vs. Grant-Kohrs Ranch near Deer Lodge. Vote here!
— Nora Mabie
Verbatim 💬
“Restricting the use of the Capitol grounds sends the wrong signal about the relationship between government and the people it serves. The Capitol grounds should remain a welcoming and accessible space where citizens can gather peacefully and engage in the democratic process.”
— A letter sent March 17 from 57 Democratic state lawmakers to Gov. Greg Gianforte.
Most of the state’s Democratic lawmakers Tuesday signed on to the letter urging the governor to reconsider new guidelines banning permits for weekend rallies on the Capitol grounds. The next day, Misty Ann Giles, director of the Montana Department of Administration, said at a legislative meeting that her department would indeed “go back to the drawing board” and revisit the guidelines.
Montana Free Press reported last week that new guidelines say public events requiring a permit “may only occur on weekdays and between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., excluding holidays.” Organizers of the upcoming “No Kings” rally March 28 in Helena condemned the change, saying it violates their First Amendment rights to assemble and to free speech.
In their letter, lawmakers asked Gianforte to reconsider the permitting decision “and restore the longstanding practice of allowing permitted weekend events on the Capitol grounds.”
Although the DOA did not set a timeline for a review of the permitting guidelines, Barbara Barnes, a spokesperson for Indivisible Helena, the group organizing the upcoming rally, welcomed Giles’ comments.
“It’s a positive development for the support of free speech and the right to assemble seven days a week, because those rights do not stop being rights on any day of the week,” Barnes told MTFP.
READ MORE HERE: Gianforte administration says it will reconsider policy change to restrict Capitol rallies
— Nora Mabie and JoVonne Wagner
Snapshot 📸
An abundance of snow at many Montana ski hills made for full parking lots and long lift lines last weekend. The chairlifts were full on March 13 at Whitefish Mountain Resort, which reported receiving more than 2 feet of snow during the weekend storms. The image appears courtesy of Whitefish Mountain Resort.
Highlights ☀️
In other news this week —
• Gov. Gianforte has asked the state Supreme Court to weigh in, quickly, on the constitutionality of one 2025 law that brought property tax relief to most Montanans.
• An Anaconda man accused of plotting to kill a Montana abortion provider has been ordered held on $5 million bail while he awaits trial on an array of charges.
• As Missoula’s homeless population grows, this free veterinary clinic is helping residents care for their pets. (And, we must say, Pepper is adorable.)
On Our Radar
Brad — In keeping with my longstanding cultural-relevance strategy of “discovering” new music at least two decades after it was new, I recently picked up a copy of Air’s unfamiliar-to-me 1998 debut “Moon Safari.” (Thanks to Montana Book Co. for the well-curated LP stock.) While at least one co-listening aesthete of my acquaintance is deeply unenthusiastic about the electronica classic’s entrance into my regular rotation — “You can listen to that when you’re alone. It makes my skin crawl.” — I’ve been finding welcome chill solace in its now antique grooves. Plus, I’ve never seen anything more charming on a record cover than the “French Band” label the group apparently deemed a necessary transatlantic introduction.
Nick — While its findings are both horrible and maddening, the New York Times’ investigation regarding allegations of sexual abuse by civil rights icon Cesar Chavez is a remarkable piece of journalism.
Lauren — This week, I was deeply moved by Jessie Buckley’s Oscar acceptance speech. When she described the “beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart,” I saw my mom; I felt our history. So, in honor of her performance, I went on a run and listened to Buckley’s recent Modern Love episode. My mom lives far away and, like most mother/daughter relationships, ours is complex. I’m seeing her this week, and I couldn’t be more excited. I know it won’t always be easy, but it will be beautiful, and it will be chaotic.
Mara — Helenans, I have three words for you: Korean. Food. Cup.
*Some stories may require a subscription. Subscribe!
Lowdown is edited by Nick Ehli, with additional copy editing this week by Mara Silvers.