They have been offered posts at the NIDEI*, which is effectively a demotion, and an institute that Trump wants to close so effectively putting them on a sinking ship.
*Actually the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
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The Truth about RFK Jr
- Thread starter angrysoba
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*Actually the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
Walter Bragman on bsky, May 18, 2026
NEW: With the departure of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and CDER Director Tracy Beth Høeg last week—which follow the exit of CBER Director Vinay Prasad last month—the list of Robert Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vax allies in high-ranking roles at HHS has shrunk considerably.
Our report.
MAHA Officials Out At FDA
Kennedy vaccine skeptical allies are dropping fast as the White House prepares for midterms.
Andy_Ross
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REPORTER: “What was the last vaccine you yourself had?”
RFK JR: “I was getting a flu shot every year [until] 2005.”
REPORTER: “Why’d you stop?”
RFK JR: “I began looking at the side effects. One of the injuries… was spasmodic dysphonia, which is an injury I have to my voice. That’s why my voice is so screwed up. And that turns out to be a vaccine injury.”
video in link
RFK JR: “I was getting a flu shot every year [until] 2005.”
REPORTER: “Why’d you stop?”
RFK JR: “I began looking at the side effects. One of the injuries… was spasmodic dysphonia, which is an injury I have to my voice. That’s why my voice is so screwed up. And that turns out to be a vaccine injury.”
video in link
Norman Alexander
Penultimate Amazing
Robbie, that's a horse ◊◊◊◊ self-diagnosis. There's zero evidence vaccines cause spasmodic dysphonia. None.
In fact, there's some evidence that vaccines actually prevent the viral injuries that may cause it.
You're not a doctor, and certainly not a qualified virologist. Shut the ◊◊◊◊ up.
Stacyhs
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Did Trump think that putting the most stupid, unqualified idiots in his cabinet positions would make himself look less stupid and unqualified in comparison? If so, it didn't work.
Flo
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Every single person who flatters, praises, endorses, votes for, and of course pays, him is by definition a qualified genius, and putting them into cabinet positions proves how intelligent and insightful he is!
Norman Alexander
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Chris_Halkides
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On social media vaccine attorney Dorit Rubenstein Reiss wrote, "Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has dismissed the two chairs of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force whose recommendations determine what insurance covers with no additional charge for millions of Americans.
Kennedy dismissed panel chairs Esa Davis and John Wong in May 11 letters obtained by NOTUS. Kennedy wrote the early terminations weren’t related to Davis’ and Wong’s performance but instead “to help protect the Task Force and preserve confidence in the continuity and durability of its work.”
Kennedy has called the panel “lackadaisical and negligent” to Congress without offering specifics. The move puts more power in the hands of a political appointee at the Department of Health and Human Services, who can replace the panel’s leaders with handpicked members.
The task force’s 16 volunteer members review research to make recommendations on what preventive services — like screenings for cancer, depression and osteoporosis — health insurers must cover without charging patients a copay. They typically serve four-year terms and are selected by the head of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in consultation with the panel’s leaders. The current head of AHRQ is Roger Klein, who is a molecular pathologist and attorney.
“He now has consolidated power and there are no chairs to consult with,” said a source familiar with the panel’s work.
Kennedy has been undercutting the task force over the last year by indefinitely postponing its three annual meetings and allowing seats to remain unfilled. The panel hasn’t met since March 2025."
Kennedy dismissed panel chairs Esa Davis and John Wong in May 11 letters obtained by NOTUS. Kennedy wrote the early terminations weren’t related to Davis’ and Wong’s performance but instead “to help protect the Task Force and preserve confidence in the continuity and durability of its work.”
Kennedy has called the panel “lackadaisical and negligent” to Congress without offering specifics. The move puts more power in the hands of a political appointee at the Department of Health and Human Services, who can replace the panel’s leaders with handpicked members.
The task force’s 16 volunteer members review research to make recommendations on what preventive services — like screenings for cancer, depression and osteoporosis — health insurers must cover without charging patients a copay. They typically serve four-year terms and are selected by the head of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in consultation with the panel’s leaders. The current head of AHRQ is Roger Klein, who is a molecular pathologist and attorney.
“He now has consolidated power and there are no chairs to consult with,” said a source familiar with the panel’s work.
Kennedy has been undercutting the task force over the last year by indefinitely postponing its three annual meetings and allowing seats to remain unfilled. The panel hasn’t met since March 2025."
Chris_Halkides
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At MedPage Today Kristina Fiore covered Senator Ron Johnson's release of a report from the FDA covering possible deaths associated with the Covid-19 vaccines. The photograph of Senator Johnson includes a card which lists the number of Covid vaccine deaths as 38,742. All of the numbers relating to Covid-19 are in red, whereas other numbers are in black. The origin of Senator Johnson's numbers is unclear, but this number of deaths is far greater than, for example, Dr. Prasad's number, which was 10 children IIRC.
Chris_Halkides
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From MedPage Today, "HHS is moving hundreds of senior career staff to a new at-will civil service classification that makes them easier to fire, raising concerns about whether it puts staffers not loyal to this administration's priorities at risk. Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought has claimed that career staff impeded Trump's policies during his first term. President Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office creating this classification. (Politico)"
Stacyhs
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Just another day in 3rd world US.
Chris_Halkides
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Max Kozlov at Nature reported, "Update: Jeffery Taubenberger, the acting director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has stepped down, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin, said at a hearing on 21 May. The NIAID could not be immediately reached for comment."
Norman Alexander
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Just preparing for the next epidemic. It will only be in the USA, not world-wide.
Safe-Keeper
My avatar is not a Drumpf hat
A million dead wasn't enough
.The problem isn't that she is a family practitioner. there are excellent family practitioners, and being a family practitioner is probably better than previous surgeon generals who haven't been medically qualified. But she doesn't appear to have the administrative experience to be surgeon general. also she just doesn't appear to be very bright. I suspect there are family practitioners who are managing large health care systems or similar who could do the job.
Being a family practitioner is a challenging job, I couldn't do it. Having to manage everything from paediatrics to geriatrics, sports medicine to palliative care. Not a bad back ground for a surgeon general, I dislike the anti-generalist tone of the article. Just focus on the fact that she has no experience of managing large organisations.
Norman Alexander
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She's a grifting snake-oil salesman who couldn't run a popsicle stand... Yep, perfect candidate for US Surgeon General under Trump.
Chris_Halkides
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The Guardian reported on the supplements that the nominee for Surgeon General, Stephanie Haridopolos, has promoted: "The first ingredient listed in Drop RX’s “Calm” formulation is kava kava root. Also called kava, the ingredient was added to the US Department of Defense list of prohibited dietary supplement ingredients in April 2024, “based on the possibility of impairment and subsequent threat to military readiness”, according to a spokesperson for the department’s health system. The spokesperson added that the US Food and Drug Administration, which regulates food and drug safety, first issued a consumer advisory in 2002 expressing concerns about liver damage associated with kava use. The FDA in 2020 published a 29-page review of the scientific literature and highlighted safety concerns about kava. Kava can be legally sold in the US, but it has been banned or restricted in some countries, including the UK, France and Switzerland, due to concerns about liver toxicity."
Here is a link to an interview. She mentioned ultraprocessed foods.
Here is a link to an interview. She mentioned ultraprocessed foods.
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Chris_Halkides
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At MSNOW three former workers within HHS wrote, "This “decision-based evidence making” approach is all the more infuriating given that it’s being done at public expense. The Times reported that Kennedy’s stealth research push will cost the CDC alone between $40 million and $50 million. Public health leaders and organizations are forced to allocate time and money not to advance the next generation of prevention, but to instead address inaccuracies originating from our highest-ranking health official. By contrast, vaccines have saved us trillions of dollars by preventing hundreds of millions of illnesses and more than a million childhood deaths. This pattern reflects a profound misuse of limited public health resources. If ever there were a time for radical transparency in how the department is being managed, Mr. Secretary, now is that time."