Senators must confront Kennedy on HHS ‘pause’ on health agency communications

It is now clear that the Trump “pause” on federal health agency communications is more than just a routine opportunity for the new administration to ”catch its breath.” Rather, it will stifle the speech of government science and scientists, and is very likely a dark harbinger of what’s to come from this administration.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report—the gold standard for government public health science: delayed in a historic first. Important scientific meetings—like the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria: canceled. And the arbitrary decision to cancel National Institutes of Health study sections will have cascading effects that will impede and delay cancer research for months. Both the PACCARB and NIH study section meetings are anodyne elements in the efficient execution of basic public health functions. That they should have fallen under the microscope of the incoming administration augurs very poorly for scientific independence in the next four years.

Looming over this chaos is the pending nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as Secretary of Health and Human Services, whose confirmation hearings are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. We oppose Kennedy’s nomination for his anti-scientific views and behavior, which, among other things, include his skepticism that germs cause infectious disease, his belief that unpasteurized milk is safe to drink, and his surprisingly lucrative side hustles promoting irresponsible conspiracy theories about vaccines.

Notably, Kennedy also has stated a reckless desire to pause all NIH research having to do with drug development or infectious disease—strangely, he said the “little break” on such research would last “eight years.” In that context, the chaos posed by this ostensibly temporary “pause” is consistent with his announced plans for the NIH.

When Senators question Kennedy at his hearings next week, they must demand answers about this "pause,” which was issued at least in part by his former press secretary.  

Kennedy is without question the most unqualified presidential nominee to lead HHS in the history of the agency. A vote for Kennedy is a vote to casually cast aside a century of scientific achievement and medical progress.

Nota bene: Dr. Lurie served as Associate Commissioner for Public Health Strategy and Analysis at the Food and Drug Administration from 2008 to 2017, and also served on the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.