Not Protecting Kids: Potential HHS Head Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Promises These Sweeping Changes Across the FDA, NIH, CDC

Trump’s potential nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has laid a grand vision for the country’s top health and science agencies. 

Several of Trump’s closest allies have reportedly recommended RFK Jr. for the position. The Independent Party-aligned Environmental lawyer also stated that Trump would “fight like hell” to make him the HHS secretary.

Meanwhile, RFK Jr. has outlined how he plans to streamline the country’s health and scientific agencies in line with Trump’s initiative to end corruption and conflict of interest and free the public health institutions from “corporate capture” by large pharmaceutical companies. Three-quarters of the FDA’s budget for drug approvals comes from pharmaceutical companies.

RFK Jr.’s proposed changes would affect the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

Under the Biden administration, these institutions departed from evidence-based, gold-standard science to become political tools for pushing the Left’s pseudo-science-based political agenda. 

In May 2024, ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) published a report detailing NIH’s blatant lack of transparency. 

Some of the shortcomings the report identified include the NIH’s failure to convene the Senate-mandated Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB) which provides feedback on the institute’s structure and operations, allowing it to operate without scrutiny.

In a recent interview, RFK Jr. said he intends to terminate 600 National Institutes of Health (NIH) employees immediately after taking office. 

“We need to act fast, and we want to have those people in place on January 20 so that on January 21, 600 people are going to walk into offices at NIH, and 600 people are going to leave.”

Those departing under the new leadership would likely include the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci, the NIH director Monica M. Bertagnolli, and their close associates who worked closely with the Biden administration.

However, the Biden administration finalized a rule to prevent the firing of federal employees. Trump said he would re-issue the 2020 executive order, granting him the power to fire federal employees. 

Should Trump appoint him, RFK said he would also clear out entire departments at the FDA that were letting Americans down. Another proposal also recommends reducing the number of NIH institutes from 27 to 15.

“In some categories, there are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA that are—that have to go, that are not doing their job, they’re not protecting our kids.”

RFK also promised to “make America healthy again” by ending the chronic disease epidemic adding that President Trump wants to see measurable and concrete results within two years. 

On other issues, RFK said he would not “take away anybody’s vaccines,” adding that “People ought to have [a] choice.” His approach sharply contrasts the Biden administration’s which took away people’s right to take or decline COVID vaccines.