Is Trump 'feeling pressure' to do something about RFK Jr. amid CDC turmoil?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.is battling several fires. A day before the health secretary was set to appear before the Senate Finance Committee to discuss PresidentDonald Trump's 2026 healthcare agenda on Sept. 4, more than1,000 current and former Health and Human Servicesofficials called for Kennedy to step down from his position saying he was "endangering the nation's health by spreading inaccurate health information." The letter follows the ouster of CDC directorSusan Monarezjust one month into her tenure after a disagreement over vaccine policy with Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic who has promoted a controversial and unfounded theory that links vaccines to autism. Monarez's dismissal was followed by resignations from three other top CDC officials in protest of Kennedy's leadership. Meanwhile, part of Kennedy's core "Make America Healthy Again"constituency is frustrated by the Trump administration for not doing enough to regulate pesticides,especially glyphosate, the main active ingredient in Roundup. Citing a provision in a congressional appropriationsbillthat would provide immunity to pesticide makers, Zen Honeycutt, one of Kennedy's staunchest supporters and the founder of Moms Across America, an organization that raises awareness about toxins in the food supply and environment, warned Trump in a letter she co-signed that it would be a "poison pill for Republicans." The letter, signed by more than 240 people including many prominent MAHA activists, doctors and farmers warned that it represents "peril for the Republican majority in the House at the 2026 midterms." Kennedy and his MAHA base have long railed against the restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19 and questioned thesafety and efficacy of mRNA vaccines,the technology that was used to develop COVID vaccines. On April 27 Kennedyannounced that emergency-use authorizations for COVID-19 vaccineshad been terminated. Under the updated approvals,only those over 65 and younger people with underlying health conditions would be recommended for the COVID-19 vaccine. At the same time, it is available to anyone who wants to get it in consultation with their doctor. In August, theDepartment of Health and Human Services shut down 22 federally funded mRNA vaccine programs, representing $500 million in strategic biomedical research. Kennedy ran for president as a Democrat in 2024, before switching to independent and eventually endorsing Trump. When he joined the Trump camp, he brought with him his newly minted "Make America Healthy Again" movement, and Trump promised to let Kennedy "go wild" on health, food and medicine. Kennedy's base, mostly made up of independents, was crucial to Trump's victory. But his nomination by Trump to head the HHS would end up becoming one of the most divisive Cabinet picks. His promotion of conspiracy theories claimingvaccines cause autism, linking antidepressants to school shootings and evensuggesting WiFi causes canceralarmed healthcare professionals and Democratic lawmakers. However, his contention thatBig Food and Big Pharmaare behind the "chronic diseases epidemic" with additives and junk food won support from a cross-section of the society, particularly mothers. In April, he announced thateight artificial dyeswill be phased out from medications and the nation's food supply by the end of 2026, including those found in candy, ice cream, soft drinks and jams. The move has won bipartisan praise. Kennedy's headaches only grew on Sept. 3, after Pfizer suggested Trump should win a Nobel Peace Prize for Operation Warp Speed, which was launched by Trump in 2020 in response to the pandemic. The initiative netted results, with companies quickly developing vaccines in a year's time to stop the virus. Kennedy has called the COVID vaccine "thedeadliest vaccine ever made." Pfizer's statement (Trump has made no secret of coveting the Nobel)came after Trump expressed his ambivalence about the success of the vaccines on Sept. 1 in a Truth Social post. The post came just days after the adminstartion was dealing with the fallout from resignations at the CDC over vaccine policy. "Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives. Others disagree!" Trumpsaid of COVID-19 drugs, including vaccines made by Pfizer, Moderna and other pharmaceutical companies. "With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW." Tony Lyons, president, MAHA Action, celebrated Trump's demand. "Secretary Kennedy and President Trump are working to protect the American public from the rampant conflicts of interest, from the fake corporate science, from the blatant corruption that has harmed the American public, poisoned our children by prioritizing profits over people," he said. "This is a giant step in that direction." Meanwhile, others wondered if Trump was hedging his bets. "They show me GREAT numbers and results, but they don't seem to be showing them to many others. I want them to show them NOW, to CDC and the public, and clear up this MESS, one way or the other!!!," wrote Trump. "I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as "BRILLIANT" as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why???" Arthur Caplan, founding head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said the post from Trump was trying to walk the line between appeasing the some in the MAHA base skeptical of the vaccines and at the same time leave the door to distance himself from Kennedy if it came to that. After all, Caplan said Trump had made vaccines the core of his response to COVID and had worked closely with the drug companies on the approval of the original vaccines. "My read on that announcement was he's feeling pressure to do something about Kennedy who has gone too far in terms of vaccine opposition and causing so much turmoil," he said. "He's buying time because Kennedy has created such a mess." As far as putting up raw data, Caplan said it wouldn't make sense for drug companies to do that as critics will say the data is not reliable. "Drug companies rely on the academics to do their studies independently and then get them in the peer reviewed journals," he said. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president had "the utmost confidence and trust in Secretary Kennedy to lead HHS and he only wants the best, brightest, most MAHA-aligned people on board to deliver on this important mission." At the same time, she acknowledged that Trump's pledge to "Make America Healthy Again" was "key to his resounding Election Day victory in 2024." The MAHA leaders' letter was alluding to that very delicate coalition - that creating broad liability protections for pesticides is a "losing issue for your party and your coalition, and may well cost you the House majority in the midterms." On Sept. 3, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said he welcomed Trump's call for transparency. "To date, data on Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine have appeared in over 600 peer-reviewed publications," he said in a statement. "U.S. FDA detailed data has been submitted to regulators in 130 countries, and, after thorough review and analysis, all approved the vaccine." In response to Trump's demand the company added alinkto Pfizer's website containing published studies and updates on safety and efficacy data. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and a vocal Kennedy critic, said Trump might be misreading the MAHA appeal in trying to appease his base. While his base might generally be behind Kennedy and MAHA, he said it is only true when it comes to being "anti-Big Food and anti-Big Ag." "I think that's true and that I think a lot of people feel we can eat better and we could live longer but most people support vaccines, most parents support vaccines, Republican or Democrat," he said. Manypollshave shown that to be true. According to anNBC News Decision Desk Pollreleased June,close to 80% of U.S. adultssupport the use of vaccines for prevention of diseases - a stark contrast from thecontroversial views on vaccinesheld by Kennedy. Asked about the use of vaccines to prevent diseases, 69% of Republicans, 93% of Democrats and 76% of independents responded to the NBC poll that they support immunizations to protect public health. With the deepbudget and staff cutsmade to HHS, the ability to collect and manage public health data has been compromised in case of disease outbreaks, said Offit. "I think it's a disaster. I think RFK Junior has shredded the CDC, I think in all aspects, including their surveillance abilities," said Offit, who was removed from his position at the FDA's vaccine advisory panel on Aug. 28. After releasing his firstMAHA report in Mayper Trump's executive order to establish a commission to "Make America Healthy Again," investigating chronic illness and delivering an action plan to fight childhood diseases, a second MAHA strategy report was expected to be unveiled in August. A White House spokeperson confirmed the report had been submitted, but said that a date for the public release had not yet been scheduled. However, a leaked draft ofthe reportwas published by the New York Times. The White House did not comment on the veracity of the report. Honeycutt called the draft report's statement on pesticides "profoundly disappointing." "This MAHA Commission Report's section on pesticides was clearly influenced by chemical corporations," she wrote on her blog, adding that the report is "pandering to pesticide company profits and catering to the convenience of agrochemical farmers." Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY.You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopalSwapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:MAHA hits a roadbump. Frustrations grow within and outside movement
Is Trump 'feeling pressure' to do something about RFK Jr. amid CDC turmoil? Robert F. Kennedy Jr.is battling several fires. A day be...
