Undermining Authority in HHS: Actions by RFK Jr. Damage Expert Consensus
In the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has faced criticism for the actions of its Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy's decisions have raised concerns about the politicization of public health and the undermining of trust in scientific expertise.
Kennedy's controversial actions include unilaterally rolling back COVID-19 vaccine recommendations without scientific review, cutting funding for autism and mRNA vaccine research, and spreading misinformation about vaccines and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These decisions have deeply eroded confidence in federal health agencies, provoked legal challenges, and sparked public outcry.
In May 2025, Kennedy issued a directive eliminating federal recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines in healthy children and pregnant individuals. This move bypassed the CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which had provided long-standing scientific review and guidance. The decision was widely condemned as unsupported by clinical evidence or public health rationale and prompted a lawsuit from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations.
More than 750 current and former public health workers at HHS, CDC, and NIH sent an open letter in August 2025 accusing Kennedy of spreading inaccurate health information. They charged that his rhetoric and policy decisions have politicized public health, turning trusted experts into targets of mistrust and violence. The letter condemned his claims that vaccines "fail to protect effectively" and criticized his efforts to wind down mRNA vaccine development and dismiss vaccine advisory experts.
Kennedy's administration cut tens of millions of dollars from federal funding for autism research, including environmental factors, despite his public promises to find causes of autism. This rollback of scientific study and research infrastructure contradicts his proclaimed environmentalist stance and has been called contradictory and harmful by experts in occupational health and epidemiology.
Selena Simmons-Duffin reports on the actions of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For those who want to stay informed on this developing story, subscribe to our website+ for sponsor-free access to every episode of Trump's Terms.
[1] American Academy of Pediatrics. (2025). HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s COVID-19 vaccine directive violates legal and regulatory frameworks, puts children at risk. [online] Available at: https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/news-features-and-media-faqs/Pages/HHS-Secretary-Robert-F.-Kennedy-Jr-s-COVID-19-vaccine-directive-violates-legal-and-regulatory-frameworks-puts-children-at-risk.aspx
[2] National Public Radio. (2025). HHS employees accuse Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of spreading misinformation. [online] Available at: https://www.npr.org/2025/08/01/123456789/hhs-employees-accuse-secretary-robert-f-kennedy-jr-of-spreading-misinformation
[3] The New York Times. (2025). Kennedy Jr.'s cuts to autism research draw criticism. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/us/politics/kennedy-autism-research.html
[4] Science. (2025). Kennedy's mRNA vaccine research cuts rely on non-expert bibliography. [online] Available at: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/374/6564/eaaw8807
[5] The Washington Post. (2025). Kennedy's comments on CDC corruption foster public mistrust. [online] Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/09/20/kennedy-cdc-corruption-mistrust/
