When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is sworn in because the nation’s subsequent well being secretary Thursday, his first order of enterprise will likely be to analyze America’s drawback with continual sicknesses.
White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt advised Fox Information that President Donald Trump will signal an govt order making a “Make America Well being Once more” fee and direct Kennedy “to analyze this continual disaster plaguing our nation and the minds and the our bodies of the American folks.”
What that can imply precisely stays to be seen. However listed here are three issues to observe for as Kennedy takes the helm, based mostly on what he and Trump have stated prior to now:
Extra research on meals dyes or different meals components?
MAHA has simply emerged as a deeply common slogan by Kennedy as a lot of America struggles with weight problems and continual ailments. The query although is how to do this in a approach that will not overwhelm the federal funds or set off an avalanche of authorized challenges from the meals and drug business.
One doable avenue for Kennedy could possibly be to name for added security research of sure substances utilized by producers, together with meals dyes.
Final month, the Meals and Drug Administration revoked its authorization of 1 kind of pink meals dye. “Crimson Dye No. 3” is understood to trigger most cancers in laboratory animals however was allowed for use by producers for years as a result of scientists did not consider it raised most cancers danger in people on the stage sometimes consumed. The FDA, below President Joe Biden, acted after longtime stress by client advocates.
However a special kind, Crimson Dye No. 40, stays available on the market and hasn’t been studied by the FDA in additional than 20 years. FDA and well being officers say there isn’t a proof although that it is dangerous, and meals producers say they want to have the ability to depend on substances typically acknowledged as protected.
Nonetheless, well being advocates argue extra might be executed to take a look at the well being impacts and or do the form of post-market monitoring of meals extra widespread in Europe.
All of these efforts although will take important federal sources and depend on a workforce that Trump has promised to chop.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., testifies throughout a Senate Committee on Well being, Training, Labor and Pensions listening to for his pending affirmation on Capitol Hill, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington.
Rod Lamkey/AP
Rewriting discrimination guidelines for hospitals, docs and insurers to exclude transgender protections
Kennedy hasn’t personally centered a lot on the query of transgender rights. However eliminating federal guidelines at Well being and Human Providers that President Barack Obama and Joe Biden pushed to guard transgender Individuals is a significant precedence for Trump and the conservative occasion.
Federal regulation prohibits sexual discrimination, however it’s as much as the chief department to spell out particular guidelines that colleges, insurers and hospitals should comply with in the event that they need to retain entry to federal support.
Obama triggered a fierce authorized struggle in his second time period when he issued federal rules geared toward defending transgender folks from discrimination in colleges and medical settings. Beneath guidelines written by Obama’s Well being aand Human Providers Division, docs and hospitals had been advised could not decline look after an individual due to their gender id. Insurance coverage firms additionally had been particularly prohibited from providing totally different advantages to sure teams, together with transgender people and other people with HIV.
Trump shortly dropped Obama’s guidelines in his first time period, writing new guidelines that granted exceptions for medical suppliers on discrimination guidelines in the event that they cited spiritual objections.
President Joe Biden tried to resurrect Obama’s preliminary guidelines however was swiftly challenged in courtroom by Republican states, tossing the difficulty again to Trump. It’s going to now be as much as HHS below Kennedy, if he is confirmed, to determine what these federal guidelines ought to say.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s decide to be the Secretary of Well being and Human Providers, testifies throughout his affirmation listening to within the Dirksen Senate Workplace Constructing in Washington, DC. Jan. 29, 2025.
Allison Dinner/EPA by way of Shutterstock
Making it simpler for fogeys to ship unvaccinated youngsters to public colleges
College vaccine necessities are as much as the states, and at present all 50 states have legal guidelines requiring sure vaccines for college kids to attend public colleges.
However HHS units the suggestions for childhood vaccines adopted by colleges, whereas the Training Division gives important grant cash to colleges used to show low-income or kids with disabilities.
On the marketing campaign path, Trump threatened to revoke spending for colleges that mandate vaccines at present really useful by public well being specialists and HHS.
“I cannot give one penny to any college that has a vaccine mandate or a masks mandate,” Trump declared final 12 months.
Such a transfer might have massive implications for public well being. In accordance with the nonpartisan KFF, routine vaccination charges for kindergarten kids is on the decline whereas exemptions are on the rise, together with non-religious exemptions.
Whereas working for president earlier than aligning with Trump, Kennedy rejected the quite a few research discovering that childhood vaccines are protected, together with a number of research that debunked a delusion that vaccines trigger autism. Throughout his Senate affirmation, Kennedy insisted he would not oppose vaccines however needs extra research.
Sen. Invoice Cassidy, a Republican physician from Louisiana, stated he was involved by Kennedy’s previous in “undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or deceptive arguments.” Going through a Republican major subsequent 12 months, Cassidy determined to again Trump’s decide after getting Kennedy to agree the 2 would work collectively intently.
“Finally, restoring belief in our public well being establishment is simply too necessary, and I feel Mr. Kennedy will help get that executed,” Cassidy stated.
ABC Information’ Michelle Stoddart, Molly Nagle and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.