When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is sworn in because the nation’s subsequent well being secretary Thursday, his first order of enterprise will probably be to research America’s drawback with persistent diseases.
White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt instructed Fox Information that President Donald Trump will signal an government order making a “Make America Well being Once more” fee and direct Kennedy “to research this persistent 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 mentioned 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 persistent ailments. The query although is how to do this in a manner that will not overwhelm the federal finances or set off an avalanche of authorized challenges from the meals and drug business.
One doable avenue for Kennedy may very well be to name for extra security research of sure substances utilized by producers, together with meals dyes.
Final month, the Meals and Drug Administration revoked its authorization of 1 sort of pink meals dye. “Purple 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 imagine it raised most cancers danger in people on the degree sometimes consumed. The FDA, underneath President Joe Biden, acted after longtime strain by client advocates.
However a distinct sort, Purple Dye No. 40, stays in the marketplace 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 may be achieved to take a look at the well being impacts and or do the sort of post-market monitoring of meals extra frequent in Europe.
All of these efforts although will take vital 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, Schooling, 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 targeted 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 People is a significant precedence for Trump and the conservative occasion.
Federal legislation prohibits sexual discrimination, nevertheless it’s as much as the chief department to spell out particular guidelines that faculties, insurers and hospitals should observe in the event that they need to retain entry to federal support.
Obama triggered a fierce authorized combat in his second time period when he issued federal laws aimed toward defending transgender folks from discrimination in faculties and medical settings. Beneath guidelines written by Obama’s Well being aand Human Providers Division, docs and hospitals have been instructed could not decline take care of an individual due to their gender identification. Insurance coverage corporations additionally have been particularly prohibited from providing totally different advantages to sure teams, together with transgender people and folks with HIV.
Trump rapidly 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 court docket by Republican states, tossing the problem again to Trump. It’s going to now be as much as HHS underneath Kennedy, if he is confirmed, to resolve 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 folks to ship unvaccinated children to public faculties
Faculty vaccine necessities are as much as the states, and at present all 50 states have legal guidelines requiring sure vaccines for college students to attend public faculties.
However HHS units the suggestions for childhood vaccines adopted by faculties, whereas the Schooling Division supplies important grant cash to colleges used to show low-income or youngsters with disabilities.
On the marketing campaign path, Trump threatened to revoke spending for faculties that mandate vaccines at present really useful by public well being consultants and HHS.
“I cannot give one penny to any college that has a vaccine mandate or a masks mandate,” Trump declared final yr.
Such a transfer may have massive implications for public well being. In keeping with the nonpartisan KFF, routine vaccination charges for kindergarten youngsters is on the decline whereas exemptions are on the rise, together with non-religious exemptions.
Whereas operating 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, mentioned he was involved by Kennedy’s previous in “undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or deceptive arguments.” Dealing with a Republican main subsequent yr, Cassidy determined to again Trump’s decide after getting Kennedy to agree the 2 would work collectively carefully.
“In the end, restoring belief in our public well being establishment is just too necessary, and I believe Mr. Kennedy will help get that achieved,” Cassidy mentioned.
ABC Information’ Michelle Stoddart, Molly Nagle and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
