Changes RFK Jr. could make as HHS secretary, from vaccines to raw milk
President-elect Donald Trump has selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, a nearly $2 trillion federal agency responsible for administering health insurance programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act; approving drugs, medical devices and vaccines; regulating hospitals, physicians and other health-care providers; and steering many other initiatives affecting food and medicine.
Kennedy, who has repeatedly made false claims about vaccines, is likely to face a difficult Senate confirmation battle, with Democrats immediately signaling their opposition to his candidacy and some Republicans noncommittal about their support. If he is confirmed - or if Trump is able to use a recess appointment to install him at HHS - Kennedy has pledged to pursue his “Make America Healthy Again” plan to combat the causes of chronic disease and childhood illness. He has also discussed other goals, such as conducting more research on vaccines.
Here’s a list of some of Kennedy’s planned priorities if he becomes HHS secretary:
- - -
Conduct additional studies on vaccines
Kennedy, founder of one of the country’s most prominent anti-vaccine groups, has repeatedly - and at times erroneously - argued there is not enough data on vaccines and their effects, confounding federal officials and public health experts who say the lifesaving shots have been widely studied and helped end the risk of diseases such as polio in the United States.
“The science on vaccine safety particularly has huge deficits, and we’re going to make sure those scientific studies are done and that people can make informed choices about their vaccinations and their children’s vaccinations,” Kennedy told NPR last week.
Some public health experts say they are unlikely to trust any vaccine studies released by Kennedy, given that he has repeated the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism and made other misleading or false claims about vaccines.
- - -
Revisit federal vaccine recommendations
Kennedy has long criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommended list of childhood immunizations, saying the recommendations lack scientific basis and compel parents to vaccinate their children. The CDC list, which is not binding, helps guide state health officials’ recommendations on vaccines and schools’ requirements. CDC officials have cited evidence for the timing of the shots on their list.
While Trump allies say they do not want to engage in a major initiative re-litigating vaccine safety, they are receptive to some of Kennedy’s concerns, such as his questions about whether newborns should receive the hepatitis B vaccine, said two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. The CDC recommends children receive hepatitis B vaccines, designed to protect against liver infections, beginning within 24 hours of birth and continuing across the subsequent 18 months.
- - -
Take fluoride out of public water
Kennedy has said the Trump administration would seek to remove fluoride from drinking water as a Day 1 goal, reversing a decades-old intervention widely credited for boosting public health. The federal government in 1962 first recommended that communities add fluoride to drinking water, citing evidence that the naturally occurring mineral prevents tooth decay and boosts oral health. The Obama administration reduced the recommended amount of fluoride; experts said adding it to drinking water is less essential because fluoride has become widespread in toothpastes and mouthwashes.
Some researchers have raised concerns about fluoride, such as whether the mineral has a harmful effect on developing brains. A study led by researchers at the University of Southern California and published in JAMA Network Open in May suggested that fluoride exposure during pregnancy was linked to an increased risk of childhood neurobehavioral problems.
Kennedy also has cited a recent federal report that found a connection between high levels of fluoride in drinking water in other countries and neurodevelopmental effects in children. That report did not review whether there is any connection between the levels of fluoride in the United States, which are set at a lower level, and the cognitive health of U.S. children.
- - -
Remove food dyes and other ingredients
Kennedy has repeatedly claimed the food industry is “mass poisoning” the American public. But unlike his rhetoric around vaccines, some of his ideas to change the nation’s food policy have garnered support from both the right and the left.
In particular, Kennedy has said he wants to strip ultra-processed food from school cafeterias and crack down on food dyes - ideas that some nutrition advocates have pushed for years.
Kennedy has said he wants to “get the chemicals out” out of food in the United States, although he has made false or misleading claims about U.S. food and federal regulations, such as wrongly claiming that Froot Loops cereal in Canada contains just two or three ingredients. And in recent weeks, Kennedy has said he aims to root out conflicts of interest among experts involved in setting nutrition guidelines as well as revisit ingredients not used in food sold in other countries.
The food industry has warned that any changes should be based in science. The Food and Drug Administration has said the association between ultra-processed food and poor health outcomes is concerning but that gaps remain in understanding how those foods impact health.
- - -
Ban puberty blockers for children
Kennedy wrote in a social media post in May that he opposes making puberty blockers available to minors. These are medications that stop the body from producing sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone that are sometimes prescribed to youth with gender dysphoria as a temporary treatment, while the young person and their doctor decide whether to explore other options in the future. The medications can slow the growth of facial and body hair, prevent the deepening of the voice, prevent menstruation or limit the growth of breasts.
Kennedy’s comments have drawn fire from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, such as GLAAD, which have accused him of spreading misinformation about the risks of puberty blockers. Major medical organizations support the treatments. About 7 in 10 American adults surveyed in 2022 by The Washington Post and KFF, a nonpartisan think tank, said they opposed making puberty blockers available to trans children between ages 10 and 14. Other countries have also moved to scrutinize the treatment, with health officials in the United Kingdom this year temporarily banning puberty blockers for children.
- - -
Increase access to raw milk
Kennedy last month accused the FDA of “aggressive suppression” of a long list of products and substances, including raw milk. Some wellness advocates say they prefer the taste of raw milk - which refers to milk that has not undergone pasteurization, a type of food processing designed to kill microorganisms - or believe it offers health benefits.
Kennedy has previously voiced support for raw milk, such as in a 2022 video clip posted by the Weston A. Price Foundation, which supports access to raw milk.
“Since I was here last year, I only drank raw milk,” Kennedy said, referring to his appearance at the group’s 2021 conference.
Both the FDA and the CDC have warned that drinking raw milk can expose people to dangerous germs such as E. coli and listeria. The bird flu virus circulating in dairy cattle has also been detected in raw milk, but pasteurization has been found to kill the virus.
- - -
Push out federal officials
Kennedy has claimed that officials at the CDC, the National Institutes of Health and other agencies have been wrongly influenced by private industry, and he has alleged they have fought necessary reforms.
Kennedy has also taken aim at FDA nutritionists, saying last week that they “have to go” because they are “not doing their job” - a specter of a mass firing that unnerved officials inside the agency.
Some federal officials have countered Kennedy’s claims by saying they share his goals of trying to improve food and drug safety and hope to find common ground.
Kennedy’s complaints echo threats made by Trump and his allies, who have discussed trying to replace career federal officials across the government. Many top officials at federal agencies have civil service protections that make it difficult to remove them.
Kennedy recently said he is working to fill “about 600 positions in HHS,” singling out NIH as a top priority.
“We need to act fast, and we want to have those people in place by January 20, so that on January 21, 600 people are going to walk into offices at NIH, and 600 people are going to leave,” Kennedy said at a conference in Arizona last week. It’s not entirely clear which 600 people he means; there are about 200 political appointees across HHS and only a smattering at NIH.
Related Content
The 10 best works of historical fiction in 2024
‘Welcome back’ to an ‘existential threat’
Trump allies push to punish Jack Smith in first test of retribution vow
