Robert F Kennedy Jr has been a controversial figure in US politics for years, and his nomination as President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has raised considerable concern. If he is confirmed for the position, he will be taking over at a time of chaos across US public health agencies.
Trump plunged the country’s public health infrastructure into disarray in his first week back in office. His administration initiated the US withdrawal from the World Health Organization and imposed a near-total communication blackout on government health agencies, disrupting critical public health efforts such as pandemic preparedness, research funding and disease surveillance. On their own, these changes could make a mess of the short-term outcomes for health in the US, but Kennedy risks further destabilising the already fragile situation.
A day after Trump’s inauguration, the administration the HHS – which oversees 10 public health agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – to pause all external communications through the remainder of the month, until they can be reviewed by a presidential nominee. This includes grant announcements, press releases, alerts and reports.
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The pause is to facilitate the new administration’s transition, an HHS spokesperson told żěè¶ĚĘÓƵ. But it has sown chaos and uncertainty. “The transition in the HHS has been incredibly disorganised. It has gone from bad to worse,” says former White House covid-19 response coordinator .
The unprecedented move has put public health at risk. For instance, the CDC skipped its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for the first time in more than 60 years. The report provides vital information on disease outbreaks, emerging health threats and recommendations on everything from avian influenza to drug-resistant infections.
“Every day the publication is delayed, doctors, nurses, hospitals, local health departments and first responders are behind the information curve and less prepared to protect the health of all Americans,” says , a former CDC director.
Some exceptions are being made for announcements deemed “mission critical”, according to the HHS spokesperson. But Jha says it isn’t clear who is making these decisions, only adding to the confusion.
To steer HHS, Trump has chosen Kennedy, who has an extensive record of undermining modern medicine. Most notably, he has peddled false claims about vaccines. In a July 2023 interview he said that “I believe that autism does come from vaccines”, despite extensive research . That same month, on the Lex Fridman podcast, he questioned whether – a claim for which there is no evidence. He is also the founder and former chairperson of , an anti-vaccine non-profit organisation.
Vaccines have saved an estimated since 1974, including 146 million children under 5 years old, making them one of the most effective public health interventions in history. They are also one of our best defences against emerging pathogens, such as the H5N1 bird flu virus, which has infected at least in the US since 2024. If Kennedy is confirmed to lead the HHS, he will oversee the country’s pandemic preparedness measures, including the roughly 5 million H5N1 vaccine doses it has stockpiled.
During his on 29 January, Kennedy insisted he has never been anti-vax. “I believe vaccines play a critical role in healthcare. All of my children are vaccinated,” he said. “I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking either of those vaccines.”
Instead, he characterised his stance as “pro-safety”, an assertion he has made before. “All I’ve said about vaccines is that we should have good science. We should have the same kind of testing – placebo-controlled trials – that we have for every other medication,” he said in the 2023 Fox News interview. All vaccines undergo rigorous safety testing before approval, and many are tested in placebo-controlled trials, including the .
Beyond vaccines, Kennedy has spread misinformation about food additives, water fluoridation, ultra-processed foods and infectious diseases. For instance, he suggested that Lyme disease “is highly likely to have been a military weapon”, on his last year. He confirmed during his confirmation hearing that he “probably said that”.
Kennedy has sought to reassure his critics, telling National Public Radio in November, “We’re not going to take vaccines away from anybody.” He also avoided mentioning vaccines in a article outlining his policy proposals. Instead, he focused on tackling corruption in the healthcare system, reviewing direct-to-consumer drug advertisements and reducing prescription drug costs. These are areas much in need of reforms, but such action cannot erase Kennedy’s decades-long battle with modern medicine.
If the Senate confirms Kennedy in the coming days, it will only further deepen distrust in public health institutions.
