Washington, D.C. – March 2025
In his first official address as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. outlined a sweeping vision to confront what he called a national epidemic of chronic disease, setting the tone for a dramatic shift in health policy under the Trump administration. Speaking to department staff in Washington, Kennedy declared his shared mission with President Trump: to “Make America Healthy Again.”
Kennedy opened by painting a grim picture of the nation’s health. He cited alarming statistics showing that six in ten American adults suffer from at least one chronic illness, while four in ten live with two or more. The United States, he noted, now leads the world in cancer rates, and the prevalence of conditions such as asthma, autoimmune disorders, and diabetes has exploded in recent decades. Autism, he said, now affects one in every thirty-six children—a rate that has quadrupled over past generations. In addition, obesity, hormonal imbalances, and other previously rare conditions are increasingly common among both children and adults.
“These conditions were virtually unheard of when my uncle was president,” Kennedy said, referencing President John F. Kennedy’s term in the early 1960s. He described a nation once proud of its health and scientific leadership, now burdened with escalating disease rates and what he called a “chronic disease crisis” that is bankrupting the country.
Kennedy called out what he described as an overreliance on pharmaceutical interventions that often fail to address root causes. “Our only solution seems to be more and more pharmaceutical interventions,” he said, adding that the health outcomes in the United States continue to decline despite massive spending. Chronic diseases, he noted, now account for nearly 90 percent of the nation’s healthcare costs.
Throughout his speech, Kennedy emphasized a return to transparency and integrity as the path forward. He traced the erosion of public trust in health institutions like the NIH, CDC, and FDA to a lack of openness, and pledged to reestablish these agencies as gold standards of science. “The path to public trust is always through transparency,” he said. “Transparency is the foundation of science, and it is the foundation of democracy.”
He promised to make agency data and decision-making accessible to the public without the need for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. He also committed to addressing conflicts of interest in research, ending the “revolving door” between regulatory agencies and industry, and restoring scientific credibility through openness, reproducibility, and ethical research.
Kennedy was quick to separate health from partisanship, arguing that it should be a matter of compassion and evidence, not political ideology. “There’s no such thing as Democratic children or Republican children,” he said. “These are all our children, and all of us want to keep them healthy.”
Announcing a major initiative, Kennedy revealed that President Trump had just signed an executive order establishing the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission. The commission will investigate the root causes of declining American health over the past two generations, and Kennedy made clear that no topic will be off-limits. The list of areas under scrutiny includes vaccine schedules, electromagnetic radiation, pesticides like glyphosate, ultra-processed foods, pharmaceutical use in children and adolescents, and emerging environmental toxins such as microplastics and PFAs.
“Whatever beliefs or suspicions I’ve expressed in the past,” Kennedy said, “I’m willing to subject them all to the scrutiny of unbiased science.” He emphasized that research under his leadership would be collaborative, transparent, and free of political or commercial influence.
Addressing the staff directly, Kennedy acknowledged the controversy surrounding his appointment and the polarized environment of his confirmation. He asked his new colleagues to approach their shared mission without preconceived notions. “Let’s start from square one,” he said. “Let’s establish mutual intention to work toward what we all care about—the health of the American people.”
He promised to lead with openness, a willingness to listen, and a readiness to be proven wrong, stating that honest inquiry and good faith debate are essential for a functioning democracy. “The health of our people is a lot more important than being right or being vindicated,” he said.
Beyond policy and science, Kennedy touched on what he sees as a deeper crisis—a spiritual malaise afflicting the American people. He drew a connection between the nation’s declining physical health and the rising levels of anxiety, alienation, and hopelessness among young people. “Spiritual and physical maladies feed on one another,” he said, urging HHS to help guide a national renewal of purpose, engagement, and self-knowledge.
He warned of powerful interests that profit from public fear, division, and dependency. “They want us hiding from ourselves, dulling our pain and loneliness through sedation and distraction,” he said. In contrast, he called for an agency culture built on compassion, service, and the belief in human potential.
Kennedy concluded his remarks with a message of hope and determination. “The goals that I have for HHS—transparency, informed choice, integrity, and efficiency—are possible only with your help,” he said. “The task before us is historic: to reverse a trend of worsening health that goes back 60 years.”
Recalling a time when the United States was the healthiest nation on Earth, Kennedy challenged the agency to help reclaim that legacy. “With your help and commitment, we can go back to that time. We can have that again,” he said. “Now, let’s get to work.”
