Commentary
Introduction
As the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health in the first Trump administration, I’ve seen the inner workings of the bureaucratic behemoth known as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In today’s environment, where President Trump and Secretary Kennedy seek to disrupt the public health status quo, it is often hard to decipher the partisan rhetoric and understand what is actually happening.Given this, in follow-up to
my conversation with American Thought Leaders’ Jan Jekielek about Secretary Kennedy’s first days in office, the gracious editors at Epoch have offered me a weekly space to recap health policy and political issues—with a little bit of side commentary for why they are important.
The Issues of the Week
Last week, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took decisive steps to reorient America’s healthcare system toward transparency, prevention, and accountability. Kennedy’s actions—probing autism’s rise, championing nutrition, curbing Big Pharma’s sway, and exposing COVID-19 failures—offer a refreshing vision for a patient-first future. Here’s why these moves matter.
Questioning the Status Quo
Why has autism surged to affect one in 36 children? On April 16, Kennedy boldly
raised this question, suggesting environmental toxins like mold or chemicals could play a role. The establishment predictably pushed back, doubling down on “trust the science” rhetoric that’s eroded public confidence. Yet, Kennedy’s pledge to deliver answers by September, leveraging CDC surveillance data to examine all potential factors—including vaccines—is a masterstroke of honest inquiry. Protecting any issue from scrutiny only deepens skepticism. If vaccines are safe, they should withstand open, rigorous debate. By fostering this conversation, Kennedy is working to rebuild trust in a public health system that’s lost its bearings, giving parents clarity instead of cliches.
Nutrition as a Cornerstone
With obesity afflicting 40 percent of adults and 20 percent of kids, Kennedy’s focus on nutrition is transformative. During his “Make America Healthy Again” Southwest tour, announced April 4, he spotlighted state-level victories. Utah’s new law seeks a SNAP waiver to ban soda purchases, while Arizona banned ultra-processed foods and harmful dyes in school lunches. These practical policies prioritize whole foods over junk, addressing the chronic disease epidemic at its root. In the Navajo Nation, Kennedy visited a teaching kitchen training medical students to prescribe diet over drugs—a model that could save healthcare costs.
