Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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Kennedy Orders Change in Vaccine Testing

HHS calls for all new vaccines to undergo placebo testing, and critics are worried

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has for years voiced concerns about vaccine safety, is ordering a notable change to testing at his Department of Health and Human Services. "All new vaccines will undergo safety testing in placebo-controlled trials prior to licensure—a radical departure from past practices," an...

Advocates Sound the Alarm on RFK Jr.'s Potential 'Autism Registry'

NIH apparently planning to bring together private medical records of many Americans

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged to uncover the cause of autism within months, and as part of that effort, CBS News reports the National Institutes of Health will be "amassing" the private medical records of Americans in order to study the condition. The outlet says a "disease...

RFK Jr. Promised Autism Answers by September. NIH Says No

NIH pushes back the timeline laid out by HHS secretary

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised that by September, we'd know "what has caused the autism epidemic," but the National Institutes of Health on Tuesday said it won't quite be that quick. "We're going to get hopefully grants out the door by the end...

Kennedy Wants Food Dyes Out of Thousands of Items

Petroleum-based additives would be eliminated by end of next year

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to announce a ban on certain food dyes that are now used in thousands of items, fulfilling a long-held goal of the Health and Human Services secretary as well as many health advocates. A statement issued Monday said food manufacturers will be prohibited from using...

RFK Jr.: Here's Why Autism 'Dwarfs COVID'

HHS secretary has made multiple controversial comments about autistic kids in recent days

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made multiple headlines in recent days thanks to his controversial comments on autism , most recently on Sunday when he compared autism to the COVID pandemic during an interview on a radio show. "It dwarfs the COVID epidemic and the impacts on our country because...

Trump Administration Releases RFK Assassination Files

Tulsi Gabbard says 10K pages have been released, with 50K more to come

(Newser) - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised President Trump on Friday for "lifting the veil" on files related to the 1968 assassination of his father. In a move Trump ordered within days of taking office, the administration released around 10,000 pages of files, which can...

Kennedy Gives FDA Staff Earful
Kennedy Gives FDA Staff Earful
Apr 12, 2025 1:00 PM CDT

Kennedy Gives FDA Staff Earful

First visit to agency includes pronouncement that the 'deep state' is real

(Newser) - Addressing an FDA staff whose morale already has plunged because of thousands of layoffs, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told employees that they're a "sock puppet" of the industries they regulate, the "deep state" is real, and they should turn in their bosses...

Kennedy Wants CDC to Reverse on Fluoride

EPA launches review of potential risks of putting fluoride in drinking water

(Newser) - Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday said he plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation in communities nationwide. At the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it is reviewing "new scientific information" on potential health risks of fluoride in...

RFK Jr.: We Fired Some People by Mistake

HHS director suggests 20% of those let go will be reinstated

(Newser) - Some of the thousands of federal health workers abruptly fired this week will be reinstated, says their boss, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The secretary of Health and Human Services told reporters that the chaotic back-and-forth is a necessary part of the process being undertaken by Elon Musk's Department of...

Vast Layoffs Begin at HHS
Vast Layoffs Begin at HHS
Apr 1, 2025 11:43 AM CDT

Vast Layoffs Begin at HHS

An estimated 10K workers will be out of a job in 'bloodbath'

(Newser) - Robert Kennedy Jr.'s promised blood-letting at the Department of Health and Human Services began Monday night as the first of thousands of emails began hitting inboxes to let workers know they were either out of a job or were a candidate for reassignment. As the Washington Post reports,...

FDA's Top Vaccine Scientist Is Out, Citing RFK Jr.'s 'Lies'

Dr. Peter Marks says HHS secretary 'doesn't care about the truth'

(Newser) - The Food and Drug Adminstration's top vaccine regulator has stepped down from his role, and it's reportedly because he was forced out by the Trump administration via Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reports the Washington Post . Sources tell the paper that Marks was offered...

Steep Cuts to FDA, CDC Workforces Announced

Kennedy says new round of 10K layoffs is part of 'dramatic restructuring'

(Newser) - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the department's workforce is shrinking by around a quarter in a "dramatic restructuring." In a Thursday press release , Kennedy said 10,000 jobs are being cut as "part of this most recent transformation." Combined with...

Kennedy Has Group Remove CDC-Like Page on Vaccines

Children's Health Defense site had typefaces and designs used by federal agency

(Newser) - Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has instructed Children's Health Defense, an organization he founded, to remove a web page designed to look like the CDC's site and written to suggest vaccines might cause autism. The Health and Human Services Department issued a statement saying Kennedy had ordered...

CDC to Launch New Search for Vaccines-Autism Link

Agency cites Trump's speech to Congress

(Newser) - In spite of a body of scientific evidence that vaccines do not cause autism, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is launching a new study to look for a link. "As President Trump said in his Joint Address to Congress, the rate of autism in American children has...

Most HHS Employees Receive Buyout Offers

Email goes to staffers in disease research, food safety, Medicare and Medicaid administration

(Newser) - Thousands of Department of Health and Human Services employees responsible for researching diseases, inspecting food for safety, and operating Medicare and Medicaid have been offered buyouts. The staff members have until March 14 to decide whether to resign in exchange for a payment of $25,000, CBS News reports. The...

Beverage Companies Hope Trump Blocks SNAP Soda Bans

RFK Jr. supports allowing states to prohibit people from buying soda with benefits

(Newser) - "If you like a McDonald's cheeseburger or Diet Coke, which my boss loves, you should be able to get them," Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during one of his Senate confirmation hearings. The Health and Human Services secretary is, however, supporting a push to block people from...

Kennedy Says HHS Will Send Measles Vaccine to Texas

Secretary has played down the outbreak

(Newser) - Leading vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been dismissive of the measles outbreak in Texas, now says that the spread needs to be stopped and that the federal response will include vaccinations. "Ending the measles outbreak is a top priority for me and my extraordinary team,"...

After 'Radical Transparency' Claim, RFK Jr. Backtracks

HHS reverses policy allowing public comment on its decisions

(Newser) - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who promised "radical transparency" in the work of his department— a guarantee also made for him by President Trump—has proposed eliminating public comment on its actions. The change is included in a document placed Friday in the Federal Register,...

FDA Cancels Meeting on Picking a Flu Vaccine

Move draws attention to health secretary Kennedy's skepticism on vaccines

(Newser) - The FDA has canceled its usual spring meeting with an advisory panel of vaccine experts to discuss next year's flu shots, reports NBC News . The move has done two things: drawn attention to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's skepticism about vaccines and raised questions about how effective next...

Kennedy's Measles Report Runs Into Experts, Texas Officials

Patients aren't in hospital to be quarantined, doctor says

(Newser) - "We are following the measles epidemic every day," the nation's top health official said in a Cabinet meeting Wednesday at the White House. Doctors and officials are suggesting that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. isn't quite on top of the situation. For...

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