Secretary of Health and Human Services
Sworn in as the 26th Secretary of Health and Human Services on February 13, 2025. Dismissed over 1,000 scientists, doctors, and public health officials from HHS and slashed more than $4.5 billion in NIH funding, terminating and freezing thousands of research positions. Instructed HHS to stop recommending the combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine for children under age 4, contradicting scientific consensus. Under his tenure the U.S. recorded over 2,400 measles cases with at least 3 deaths — the highest since 1991 — placing the country on the verge of losing its measles-free elimination status. Oversaw the collapse of FDA food safety inspections and the gutting of CDC disease surveillance capacity. A long-time anti-vaccine activist prior to his appointment, Kennedy told Congress that people should not take medical advice from him.
RFK Jr.'s dismantlement of federal health agencies during an active measles crisis — including firing vaccine advisors, cutting thousands of positions, and clawing back billions — has resulted in the …
Mass layoffs at the FDA driven by the Department of Government Efficiency eliminated over 3,500 staff in 2025, causing foreign food safety inspections to drop by nearly half, outbreak investigations …
The US withdrew from the WHO effective January 2026, removing the organization's largest funder and dismantling pandemic preparedness infrastructure. The WHO announced plans to cut 2,300 jobs — 25% of …