Overview

• Six former surgeons general from both parties published a Washington Post op-ed warning that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s actions as HHS secretary pose a profound and immediate threat to the nation’s health.
• They say evidence-based decision-making has been displaced by misinformation, driving plummeting morale, sidelining experts, and an exodus of public-health talent.
• The critique highlights Kennedy’s removal of CDC vaccine advisers in June, new limits on COVID vaccine eligibility announced in August, cuts to mRNA research funding, and promotion of disputed claims about prenatal acetaminophen and autism.
• Two psychiatry groups called for Kennedy’s removal, arguing that SAMHSA staff firings and a plan to fold the agency into a new Administration for a Healthy America have harmed overdose prevention and access to mental-health care.
• HHS responded that Kennedy remains committed to the Make America Healthy Again agenda, as the White House continues to back him despite mounting institutional dissent.