In his role as health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—a long-time anti-vaccine activist with no background in science, medicine, or public health—has made headlines for his thorough perversion of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel.
In June, Kennedy fired all 17 independent experts who made up the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP. The panel sets federal vaccination guidance that dictates insurance coverage and influences state school requirements. Kennedy then repopulated ACIP with mostly unqualified allies who share his anti-vaccine views. The corrupted board went on to hold several chaotic meetings in which they voted, without scientific backing, to change vaccine policies to align with Kennedy’s anti-vaccine agenda.
The blatant undermining of ACIP led a federal judge this week to temporarily block Kennedy’s installed ACIP members and the anti-vaccine changes they made to CDC guidance. But while ACIP’s corruption has drawn the spotlight, it’s far from the only advisory committee Kennedy has destroyed or corrupted.
According to a new report by government watchdog Public Citizen, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has terminated 75 federal advisory committees under Kennedy. That amounts to about 27 percent of the 273 panels of independent experts HHS relies on to shape scientific agendas, regulations, and policies.
Of the 75 that were cut, the bulk were at the National Institutes of Health; Kennedy cut 49 advisory committees, most of which were responsible for evaluating scientific grant applications. A recent analysis from Johns Hopkins researchers found that, as of March 3, the NIH has awarded 74 percent fewer competitive or new awards than the average for the same period in the 2021–2024 fiscal years, according to a report by Stat News.
Among the terminated advisory committees was the NIH Center for Scientific Review Advisory Council, which was established in 1988. The advisory council wasn’t responsible for reviewing grant applications; rather, it advised NIH leaders on how to allocate research funds.
“Be incensed”
Beyond the NIH, the CDC had nine advisory committees terminated, among others, such as ACIP, that were undermined. Four were terminated at the FDA.
Terminated and otherwise undermined advisory committees included those that focused on childhood vaccines, heritable diseases in newborns and children, Alzheimer’s disease, health equity, healthcare infection control, rural health, novel and exceptional technology, long COVID, and the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the report finds.
In January, HHS appointed 21 new members to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, an advisory panel that monitors autism research and progress on causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. At least eight of the new members believe, as Kennedy does, the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism. In response to the appointments, autism researchers and advocates formed a competing nongovernmental advisory committee to counter the anticipated misinformation from the federal panel.
At the FDA, terminated advisory committees focused on arthritis, medical imaging drugs, pharmaceutical sciences, and patient engagement.
In all, the report finds that Kennedy’s attack on these expert advisory committees is undermining the biomedical enterprise and overall health of the US—and that the damage may be difficult to quickly reverse.
“All Americans, including patients, lawmakers, and scientists, have every right to be incensed at the damage Trump has done to federal health advisory committees,” Michael Abrams, a senior health researcher at Public Citizen and author of the report, said. “Trump’s actions are undermining biomedical research, long-standing processes for the approval of new drugs and medical devices, and federal vaccine policy. Silencing and biasing external experts makes HHS vulnerable to stagnation and corruption that erodes the health of all Americans.”
