Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Kennedy Says ‘Nothing’ Off-Limits in Scrutinizing Chronic Disease
d8a347b41db1ddee634e2d67d08798c102ef09ac
By The New York Times
Published 3 months ago on
February 18, 2025

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears before the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WASHINGTON — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in his first address to employees of the Department of Health and Human Services, said a new presidential commission would scrutinize childhood vaccine schedules, psychiatric medications and other frequent targets of his suspicion as part of his efforts to fight chronic disease.

“Nothing is going to be off-limits,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy’s 22-minute address was not public; The New York Times watched via video link.

Kennedy used the address to also extend an olive branch, urging his new colleagues to set aside the partisanship and vitriol that surrounded his nomination. He promised to keep an open mind, continue asking “difficult questions” and listen to “all the stakeholders” — especially those with whom he has disagreed.

“Let’s all depoliticize these issues and reestablish a common ground for action, and renew the search for existential truth with no political impediments and no preconceptions,” he said, adding, “I promise to be willing to be wrong.”

‘MAHA’ Commission to Take on ‘Taboo’ Topics

In a signal of how he plans to use his new authority, Kennedy also made clear that he would prod the department, and the “Make America Healthy Again” commission established by President Donald Trump that he will lead, to prioritize topics he cares about but that he said were “formerly taboo or insufficiently scrutinized” by mainstream scientists.

Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who is among Kennedy’s most vocal critics, said the remarks suggested that Kennedy did, in fact, have preconceived notions.

Offit also noted that there was a range of explanations for chronic disease that Kennedy did not mention: genetics; changes in the gut microbiome, the microbes that populate the intestinal tract; the use of certain drugs; and the fact that Americans are living longer and thus facing chronic ailments that come with age.

“He’s saying that all the scientists before him who have weighed in on the validity of these causes have all been in the pocket of somebody — but not him. He’s going to look behind the curtain. He’s going to tell us what the real truth is,” Offit said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment.

Kennedy’s address came after a weekend of mass firings at his department, which includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies Kennedy has attacked as corrupt.

He did not mention the job cuts, which are part of a broader effort to reduce the size of the federal government and have disproportionately affected young employees, some of them in prestigious fellowship programs for laboratory science and public health.

Kennedy Causes Fears Amongst Scientists, Public Health Officials

Kennedy’s arrival in Washington has generated intense trepidation among many of the scientists and public health officials whose work he will oversee; he has spent 20 years tearing their agencies down, which he now says he wants to build up. In his remarks, he said “radical transparency” was the path to restoring trust.

“Both science and democracy flourish from the free and unimpeded flow of information,” Kennedy said.

But Kennedy’s goals for transparency may collide with those of the pharmaceutical industry and academic institutions, which take money from the federal government but keep their work secret for competitive reasons. The FDA, for example, has strict rules governing the sharing of “nonpublic information.”

Reiterating a promise he made as a presidential candidate and in more recent months as a supporter of Trump, Kennedy said he would overhaul the expert committees that advise scientific agencies. The members of those committees often partner with industry; they are currently required to declare those collaborations and recuse themselves from voting on issues in which they have a financial stake, which Kennedy suggested might change.

“We’ll remove conflicts of interest on the committees and research partners whenever possible, or balance them with other stakeholders,” Kennedy said.

In his remarks, Kennedy, a one-time Democrat who turned against his prominent family’s party to partner with Trump, offered some historical sweep and also showed his spiritual side, offering his employees a glimpse of the man his supporters saw on the presidential campaign trail.

He spoke of how many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were “citizen-scientists,” including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. He invoked his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, who challenged the nation to become more fit.

“Our overall wellness must begin with a spiritual question: How do we relate to ourselves, to each other, to the community, to our communities and to the planet?” he said, adding, “Inside of us, we know that love and self-knowledge are the only true paths to good health.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Christina Jewett
c. 2025 The New York Times Company

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Republicans’ Trust in Media Increases Following Trump’s Return to White House

DON'T MISS

Jeanine Pirro to Be Interim US Attorney for DC, Trump Says

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Catch Fleeing Gang Member Who Tossed Gun Over Fence

DON'T MISS

Suit Challenges New Rules on Children in Federal Custody Who Crossed Into US

DON'T MISS

Fresno Mayor Dyer Bullish on Growth, Calls on Newsom for $200 Million

DON'T MISS

Rejoicing Peruvians See Pope Leo XIV as One of Their Own After His Many Years in Peru

DON'T MISS

FEMA’s Acting Administrator Is Replaced a Day After Congressional Testimony

DON'T MISS

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Leads Missile Test, Stresses Nuclear Force Readiness, KCNA Says

DON'T MISS

Shohei Ohtani Could Have Landed 15-Year Deal, Agent Says, but He Didn’t Want to Risk Skills Decline

DON'T MISS

White House Overhaul of Troubled US Air Traffic Control System Will Cost ‘Lots of Billions’

UP NEXT

Jeanine Pirro to Be Interim US Attorney for DC, Trump Says

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Catch Fleeing Gang Member Who Tossed Gun Over Fence

UP NEXT

Suit Challenges New Rules on Children in Federal Custody Who Crossed Into US

UP NEXT

Fresno Mayor Dyer Bullish on Growth, Calls on Newsom for $200 Million

UP NEXT

Rejoicing Peruvians See Pope Leo XIV as One of Their Own After His Many Years in Peru

UP NEXT

FEMA’s Acting Administrator Is Replaced a Day After Congressional Testimony

UP NEXT

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Leads Missile Test, Stresses Nuclear Force Readiness, KCNA Says

UP NEXT

Shohei Ohtani Could Have Landed 15-Year Deal, Agent Says, but He Didn’t Want to Risk Skills Decline

UP NEXT

White House Overhaul of Troubled US Air Traffic Control System Will Cost ‘Lots of Billions’

UP NEXT

US Military to Start Kicking out Transgender Troops Next Month, Memo Says

Suit Challenges New Rules on Children in Federal Custody Who Crossed Into US

7 hours ago

Fresno Mayor Dyer Bullish on Growth, Calls on Newsom for $200 Million

7 hours ago

Rejoicing Peruvians See Pope Leo XIV as One of Their Own After His Many Years in Peru

7 hours ago

FEMA’s Acting Administrator Is Replaced a Day After Congressional Testimony

7 hours ago

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Leads Missile Test, Stresses Nuclear Force Readiness, KCNA Says

7 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Could Have Landed 15-Year Deal, Agent Says, but He Didn’t Want to Risk Skills Decline

7 hours ago

White House Overhaul of Troubled US Air Traffic Control System Will Cost ‘Lots of Billions’

7 hours ago

US Military to Start Kicking out Transgender Troops Next Month, Memo Says

7 hours ago

Los Angeles Coliseum and SoFi Stadium to Share Opening and Closing Ceremonies for 2028 Olympics

8 hours ago

Jennifer Aniston’s Alleged Stalker Appears in Court Shirtless and a Judge Orders a Mental Evaluation

8 hours ago

Republicans’ Trust in Media Increases Following Trump’s Return to White House

Americans’ trust in news organizations and social media has increased since last year, with Republicans driving this shift following T...

6 hours ago

6 hours ago

Republicans’ Trust in Media Increases Following Trump’s Return to White House

Fox News Channel host Jeanine Pirro and other members of the news media work outside the Manhattan Criminal Court building during the 2nd day of jury deliberations in former U.S. President Donald Trump’s criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in New York City, U.S. May 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Segar
6 hours ago

Jeanine Pirro to Be Interim US Attorney for DC, Trump Says

Fresno police arrested a known gang member who ran from officers and tossed a gun over a fence in southeast Fresno. (Fresno PD)
6 hours ago

Fresno Police Catch Fleeing Gang Member Who Tossed Gun Over Fence

7 hours ago

Suit Challenges New Rules on Children in Federal Custody Who Crossed Into US

7 hours ago

Fresno Mayor Dyer Bullish on Growth, Calls on Newsom for $200 Million

7 hours ago

Rejoicing Peruvians See Pope Leo XIV as One of Their Own After His Many Years in Peru

7 hours ago

FEMA’s Acting Administrator Is Replaced a Day After Congressional Testimony

A handout photo shows missiles being launched, in North Korea, May 8, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
7 hours ago

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Leads Missile Test, Stresses Nuclear Force Readiness, KCNA Says

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend