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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s unorthodox tenure as health and human services secretary has sparked intense debate among conservatives, as his “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, initiative seeks to tackle chronic disease and curb pharmaceutical influence. His aggressive reforms, including cutting $500 million from mRNA vaccine projects and slashing 20,000 HHS jobs while consolidating 13 divisions, have energized supporters but drawn deep skepticism from others.

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Our In Focus Forum of regular contributors and editors assesses whether Kennedy is delivering on his promise to make America healthy again.

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Jim Antle, executive editor, Washington Examiner magazine: 

It’s never been clear how much President Donald Trump agrees with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “We’re going to let him run wild for a while, and then I’m going to have to rein him in, because he’s got some pretty crazy ideas, but most of them are really good,” Trump said at the Al Smith Dinner before the election.

“I’m going to let him run wild on food, I’m going to let him run wild on medicine,” Trump added. Energy and environmental policy was always a no-go zone. 

Kennedy is an inevitable corrective to the Anthony Faucis of the world, mixed in with skepticism of Big Pharma and processed foods. But that doesn’t mean the precise opposite of Faucism, delivered with even less scientific rigor, will make America healthy again. It’s time for Trump to tighten the reins.

David Harsanyi, senior writer: 

Not only is Kennedy failing to make America healthier, he’s done immense damage to the nation’s well-being. From his demonization of drug companies and doctors, who he recently claimed want to keep you sick, to his defunding of mRNA research, to his normalization of anti-vaccine quackery, Kennedy has worked against improving the lives of Americans. At best, his alleged accomplishments, pressuring companies to replace corn syrup with cane sugar or seed oils with beef tallow, will make a negligible difference. 

Kennedy took advantage of the understandable distrust in public health officials after COVID-19 to piggyback on MAGA. But he’s no better than any of them.

Tiana Lowe-Doescher, commentary writer:

Kennedy says he wants to find the environmental causes of autism, but he shut down all 50 federal studies doing so. He says he wants to end chronic disease, but he cut $1.1 billion, or nearly all, of federal vaccine funding that was finding a cure to cancer using mRNA. He claims SSRIs are dangerous, favoring mind-altering party drugs such as MDMA and LSD. He says Froot Loops are dangerous, not because they have half a daily serving of added sugar, but because of food dye. Medical freedom now means obstructing right-to-try and accelerated approval for cancer therapies. We are not healthier.

Tim Carney, senior political columnist: 

If you want to know how healthy MAHA is, just look at the folks embracing it: Froot Loops and Apple Jacks will no longer use synthetic dyes (by year 2027), Kellogg’s has announced. 

A serving of Froot Loops has 34 grams of carbohydrates, about the same as a serving of Apple Jacks. These things are all flour, sugar, and other artificial flavors. Removing Yellow 5 and Red 40 will not make them healthy. 

MAHA is chasing trends (including a post-COVID-19 aversion to vaccines) rather than doing anything meaningful.

Jeremiah Poff, Restoring America editor:

While it’s premature to issue a definitive verdict on Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” project, he has, to his credit, succeeded in turning the government’s relationship with the healthcare and food industry on its head. Industry insiders may cry foul over Kennedy’s hostility toward “Big Food” and “Big Pharma,” but the truth is that those industries enjoyed far too close a relationship with their regulators than they should have. And, at the very least, his success at putting pressure on food companies to eliminate artificial dyes is a win for public health.

Conn Carroll, commentary editor:

One can debate whether or not Kennedy deserves credit, but America is objectively healthier now than it was just a few short years ago. Every major cause of premature death, including drug overdose and obesity, is down. Americans are exercising more and drinking less. It is truly a boom time for American health, and considering that Republicans are leading the way in abstinence from alcohol, there may be a partisan MAHA angle to the development. That said, Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism could cause long-term harm. But by overhauling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, he could also restore faith in them.

Peter Laffin, In Focus editor and deputy commentary editor:

In July, the magazine Nature Biomedical Engineering published a study by the University of Florida showing an experimental mRNA vaccine boosted the tumor-fighting effects of immunotherapy, bringing scientists one step closer to a universal cancer vaccine. The implications are dizzying. 

I find myself predisposed to liking Bobby Kennedy. I like hearing obviously true things said out loud: Americans are fat. Our food is laced with toxic crap. Food stamps shouldn’t cover junk food purchases.

But all of this is overshadowed by his $500 million funding cut for mRNA vaccines — and I’m speaking as someone who suffered permanent hearing loss from the second COVID-19 Moderna shot. It’s a catastrophic move.

Tom Rogan, foreign policy writer and editor:

Kennedy harms the nation via his extreme ideological animus toward vaccines.

But he isn’t all bad. Two positive actions are his push for Americans to exercise more often and to allow states to restrict high-sugar products from purchases using government food benefit cards. It should be a no-brainer that, amid America’s profound obesity and diabetes crisis, taxpayers don’t keep paying for higher government-funded healthcare costs.

Unfortunately, Kennedy’s vaccine animus outweighs any positives. His cut to $500 million in mRNA vaccine research and wholesale firing of vaccine advisers undermines the nation’s scientific advancement and public health.

Bethany Mandel, Restoring America contributor:

Kennedy’s biggest weakness is that even when he has nuggets of good ideas, he goes too far. For example, his decision to wind down mRNA vaccine production prematurely is a double-edged sword. It encourages the CDC to no longer recommend mRNA shots for young children, reflecting legitimate safety concerns. But shutting the door entirely risks discarding a technology with broader potential. MRNA science isn’t limited to COVID-19 — it holds promise for cancer therapies, rare diseases, and future pandemic preparedness. By treating the platform itself as toxic, rather than addressing misuse and overreach during COVID-19, Kennedy is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. America needs smarter oversight, not blanket rejection, to truly become “healthy again.”

GAVIN NEWSOM’S BRAT SUMMER REDUX

Zachary Faria, commentary writer:

Kennedy’s position on food ingredients is a mixed bag. On agriculture, he is a true left-wing environmentalist whose desired GMO regulations would further cripple the smaller farming operations he claims to want to help and strengthen the grip of the big “factory farms” he and environmentalists want to weaken. His vaccine conspiracy theories were a well-documented issue before his appointment.

He has tempered the latter two impulses for now, but it will probably get worse after the midterm elections when Trump becomes a lame duck. The country would have been better off without Kennedy and his “MAHA” movement.