Overview

• At the Texas Capitol, the health secretary, who has no medical degree, said he can recognize children with “mitochondrial challenges” and inflammation by observing their faces, body movements, and social connection.
• He made the remarks while appearing with Gov. Greg Abbott for a Make America Healthy Again bill signing that targets certain food additives and limits SNAP purchases of soda and candy.
• Kennedy also asserted inflated figures for teen diabetes and autism that conflict with public health data, including CDC and American Diabetes Association statistics.
• Medical and media figures, including former White House COVID coordinator Ashish Jha and MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, condemned the comments as unscientific.
• The episode follows turbulence at the CDC, including the director’s ouster and resignations reported this week, and comes after his moves to deauthorize COVID-19 vaccinations for children and adults under 65 and divert $500 million from mRNA research.