Robert Kennedy Jr. Poised To Lead Health And Human Services: Why FDA, NIH Officials Are Nervous

Federal employees are concerned over President-elect Donald Trump’s pick, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

What Happened: Employees within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are worried about Kennedy being in charge, given his critical stance on mainstream medical practices and vaccines.

Kennedy, who received Trump’s blessing to “go wild on health,” has stated intentions to overhaul various aspects of the federal health agencies.

One plan is to slash the NIH’s 27 divisions to 15, according to NPR.

Joel Zinberg, a senior fellow at conservative think tanks, blamed the pandemic for eroding public trust in agencies like the NIH and suggested that reforms might restore confidence.

See Also: WHO Calls Vaccines ‘Absolutely Critical’ As Trump’s Appointment Of RFK Jr Pulls Pzifer, Moderna Stocks Downhill

Why It Matters: Regarding the FDA, Kennedy will likely eliminate entire departments, such as the nutrition division. He also voiced plans for broader reforms.

Some employees are reportedly contemplating departure before Kennedy Jr. even arrives.

Former and current staff cited concerns stemming from Kennedy’s potential influence and previous positions as reasons for their apprehension.

One official told NBC News that despite initial concerns during Trump’s first term, there was “relatively little turnover,” with employees managing to align with new priorities, such as faster drug approval processes.

However, the current atmosphere has a heightened sense of unease due to Kennedy’s potential involvement.

During an interview, FDA commissioner Robert Califf said he is “disappointed” about the election’s outcome. “I think we just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

While it remains to be seen what exact role Kennedy might hold, he has proposed an aggressive restructuring, including appointing new staff to replace 600 NIH employees.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a drug industry lobby group, said,” This industry is a crown jewel of the American economy, giving American patients more medicine choices than anywhere else in the world and supporting millions of high-paying, high-tech jobs around the country.

We want to work with the Trump administration to further strengthen our innovation ecosystem and improve health care for patients.”

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