Overview

• On Fox & Friends, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his agency is launching studies into whether SSRIs and other psychiatric drugs might contribute to violence.
• Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota condemned the remarks, telling Kennedy to "shut up," urging his ouster, and challenging him to address the grieving Annunciation School community.
• The Minnesota shooting left two children dead, and reporting noted the 23-year-old suspect, Robin Westman, previously applied for a name change that online conservatives have used to target transgender people.
• Medical context in the coverage notes SSRIs treat mood disorders rather than gender dysphoria and that major literature has not found a basis to deny antidepressants over presumed homicidal risk, despite existing black box warnings.
• The exchange renewed partisan fights over responses to mass shootings, with Democrats arguing the medication focus diverts attention from the availability of high-powered firearms, and with Kennedy’s comments echoing his January call for NIH studies of SSRIs and video games.