Robert F Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump's health secretary, has faced mounting criticism over a series of dubious medical claims amid chaos at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The turmoil follows the firing of CDC director Susan Monarez, prompting four other top officials to resign. Kennedy has also released controversial rules on Covid-19 vaccines.
In the wake of a deadly school shooting in Minneapolis that killed two children and injured 17, Kennedy suggested psychiatric drugs may contribute to gun violence. During a Fox & Friends appearance, he said his department was “launching studies on the potential contribution of some of the SSRI drugs and some of the other psychiatric drugs that might be contributing to violence.” The comments drew sharp rebuke from Minnesota Senator Tina Smith, who called on him to be fired.
Kennedy also claimed he could identify “mitochondrial challenges” in children at airports by their appearance. Speaking in Texas, he said: “I’m looking at kids as I walk through the airports today... and I see these kids that are just overburdened with mitochondrial challenges, with inflammation.” Former White House Covid-19 coordinator Ashish Jha dismissed the remarks as “wacky, flat-earth, voodoo stuff.”
Further controversy emerged when Demetre Daskalakis, who resigned as director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, revealed that Kennedy had never been briefed by CDC experts on key health issues. Daskalakis told CNN: “The answer is ‘no’. No one from my center has ever briefed him on any of those topics... He’s getting information from somewhere, but that information is not coming from CDC experts.”
Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine advocate, has faced increasing calls for his resignation as his leadership continues to roil US health agencies.
