SPECIAL | RFK Jr.'s impact on HHS so far has some worried
The Excerpt
USA TODAY
4.4 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 23 April 2025
⏱️ 16 minutes
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Summary
One of the most talked about and controversial cabinet appointments made by President Donald Trump has been that of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine skeptic who has embraced several debunked health conspiracies. As secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, he now controls the Centers for Disease Control, which led the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Food & Drug Administration which looks after food safety, and many other consequential health subdepartments which safeguard the public's health. What changes has RFK Jr. enacted so far and what does the future of American health under his leadership look like? Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the CDC, joins The Excerpt to share his concerns.
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Transcript
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| 0:33.5 | Hello and welcome to The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. |
| 0:36.7 | Today is Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025, and this is a special episode of The Excerpt. |
| 0:46.7 | One of the most talked about and controversial cabinet appointments made by President Donald Trump has been that of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a known vaccine |
| 0:56.2 | skeptic who has embraced several debunked health conspiracies. As Secretary of the Department of |
| 1:01.7 | Health and Human Services, he now controls the Centers for Disease Control, which led the development |
| 1:06.9 | of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Food and Drug Administration, and many other health subdepartments |
| 1:12.7 | who are responsible for safeguarding public health. What changes has RFK Jr. enacted so far? |
| 1:19.9 | And what does the future of American health under his leadership look like? Here to help me dig into |
| 1:24.2 | this is Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the CDC. |
| 1:33.3 | Dr. Besser was a practicing pediatrician for over 30 years. Thank you so much for joining me, Dr. Besser. |
| 1:39.3 | Thanks so much for having me. |
| 1:41.3 | RFK Jr. has been very vocal in a stance against vaccines in the past. |
| 1:47.0 | But when the current measles outbreak in Texas started really growing, he pivoted and finally |
| 1:52.5 | recommended that people vaccinate their kids. |
| 1:55.6 | This has spurred the Make American Healthy Again crowd to turn against him. |
| 2:00.7 | How can scientists address those who are |
| 2:02.9 | so dead set against vaccines? Yeah, you know, I want to push back a little bit on the initial premise. |
| 2:11.2 | You know, when Secretary Kennedy was first asked about the outbreak of measles at the end of the |
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