Here’s how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promised to remake the nation’s top health agencies

[Morrison71]

Here's how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promised to remake the nation's top health agencies

If confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would control the world’s largest public health agency, and its $1.7 trillion budget.

apnews.com

Food and Drug Administration​

— "FDA's war on public health is about to end," he wrote on X in late October. "If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags."

His attacks have grown more sweeping, with Kennedy suggesting he will clear out "entire departments" at FDA, including the agency's food and nutrition center. The program is responsible for preventing foodborne illness, promoting health and wellness, reducing diet-related chronic disease and ensuring chemicals in food are safe.

Last month, Kennedy threatened on social media to fire FDA employees for "aggressive suppression" of a host of unsubstantiated products and therapies, including stem cells, raw milk, psychedelics and discredited COVID-era treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.

In the case of hydroxychloroquine, for example, the agency halted its emergency use after determining it wasn't effective in treating COVID and raised the risk of potentially fatal heart events.

Consuming raw milk has long been regarded as risky by the FDA because it contains a host of bacteria that can make people sick and has been linked to hundreds of illness outbreaks.

If confirmed, Kennedy in principle could overturn almost any FDA decision. There have been rare cases of such decisions in previous administrations. Under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama, HHS overruled FDA approval decisions on the availability of emergency contraceptives.

Unwinding FDA regulations or revoking approval of longstanding vaccines and drugs would likely be more challenging. FDA has lengthy requirements for removing medicines from the market, which are based on federal laws passed by Congress. If the process is not followed, drugmakers could bring lawsuits that would need to work their way through the courts.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention​

— "On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water," Kennedy wrote on social media in November.

The CDC's fluoride guidance is just one recommendation the agency has made as part of its mission to protect Americans from disease outbreaks and public health threats.

The agency has a $9.2 billion core budget and more than 13,000 employees

Kennedy, who has said "there's no vaccine that is safe and effective," would be in charge of appointments to the committee of influential panel experts who help set vaccine recommendations to doctors and the general public. Those include polio and measles given to infants and toddlers to protect against debilitating diseases to inoculations given to older adults to protect against threats like shingles and bacterial pneumonia as well as shots against more exotic dangers for international travelers or laboratory workers.
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National Institutes of Health​

— "We need to act fast," Kennedy was reported to have said during an a Scottsdale, Arizona event over the weekend. "So that on Jan. 21, 600 people are going to walk into offices at NIH and 600 people are going to leave."

The agency's $48 billion budget funds medical research on cancers, vaccines and other diseases through competitive grants to researchers at institutions throughout the nation. The agency also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at NIH labs in Bethesda, Maryland.

Kennedy wants half of the NIH budget to go toward "preventive, alternative and holistic approaches to health," he wrote in the Wall Street Journal in September. "In the current system, researchers don't have enough incentive to study generic drugs and root-cause therapies that look at things like diet."
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Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services​

— "If a doctor's patient has diabetes or obesity, the doctor ought to be able to say, I'm going to recommend gym membership, and I'm going to recommend, good food and Medicaid ought to be able to finance those things the same as they would Ozempic," Kennedy said during a Sept. 30 town hall in Philadelphia.

Kennedy has not focused as much on the agency that spends more than $1.5 trillion yearly to provide health care coverage for more than half of the country through Medicaid, Medicare or the Affordable Care Act.

Even as Trump and other Republicans have threatened some of that coverage, Kennedy has remained mum.

Instead, he's been an outspoken opponent of Medicare or Medicaid covering expensive weight-loss drugs, like Ozempic or Zepbound. Those drugs are not widely covered by either program, but there's some bipartisan support in Congress to change that.

 

[Chishawk1425]

Brain worm and roadside kill Bears oh my. This country is the dumbest on Earth and it isn't even close.

 

[IIowaFarmBoy]

Getting rid of fluoride is probably a good idea. FDA probably needs re-done.

 

[Moral]

There is a lot more than fluoride to worry about with Iowa water.

 

[NoleinATL]

This country is the dumbest on Earth and it isn't even close.

You should spend some time traveling the world if you think this is accurate.

 

[noleclone2]

Here's how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promised to remake the nation's top health agencies

If confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would control the world’s largest public health agency, and its $1.7 trillion budget.

apnews.com

This is going to be lit!