RFK Jr. Overhauls HHS, Launches Administration for a Healthy America

This is going to make Big Pharma squirm.

This article originally appeared on The Defender and was republished with permission.

Guest post by Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D.

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today announced the creation of a new Administration for a Healthy America as part of a massive overhaul of HHS. Meanwhile, HHS will reportedly gain oversight of school meals and special education, President Donald Trump said last week.

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today announced the creation of a new Administration for a Healthy America as part of a massive overhaul of the U.S. Department of Human Services (HHS), which includes reducing the number of divisions under HHS from 28 to 15 and the number of staff from about 82,000 to 62,000.

Kennedy said the department’s new priority will be to end “America’s epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins” — priorities that “will be reflected in the reorganization of HHS.”

The Administration for a Healthy America will combine several agencies, including the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

In a statement, Kennedy said:

“We aren’t just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic. This Department will do more — a lot more — at a lower cost to the taxpayer. …

“Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants. This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves. That’s the entire American public, because our goal is to Make America Healthy Again.”

Pediatrician Dr. Michelle Perro said the changes will prioritize “a more streamlined and effective approach to addressing the tsunami of chronic diseases now affecting most Americans.”

“By consolidating the key agencies into the Administration for a Healthy America, we can restructure and better coordinate efforts in primary care, maternal and child health, mental health, and environmental health, which are areas that are pivotal to support the health of children and families,” Perro said.

Sayer Ji, co-founder of Stand for Health Freedom, said HHS had long been “a key architect of policies that have harmed countless individuals, especially during the recent public health crisis” and that “a bold restructuring was not only warranted but long overdue.”

“For too long, health agencies have operated in ‘silos’ with overlapping missions and excessive red tape that obstruct real progress,” said Kendall Mackintosh, a board-certified nutrition specialist. “A leaner, more accountable HHS has the potential to refocus resources on root-cause solutions, transparency and outcomes, not just policy maintenance and administrative overhead.”

As part of the restructuring, HHS’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, the agency responsible for national public health emergency and disaster response, will shift to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

HHS will also create the Office of Strategy “to enhance research that informs the Secretary’s policies and improves the effectiveness of federal health programs.” A new assistant secretary for enforcement will help “combat waste, fraud, and abuse in federal health programs.”

HHS, with a $1.7 trillion budget, oversees 13 agencies, including the CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It also manages government healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Mainstream news media coverage of the department’s restructuring focused on cuts to HHS staff and programs. According to NBC News, 10,000 full-time jobs across HHS agencies will be cut “as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to restructure many parts of the federal government.”

HHS said the cuts will save $1.8 billion annually. The changes will likely take effect May 27, CNN reported.

NBC News reported that HHS is “potentially jeopardizing public health” by implementing these changes.

But for Karl Jablonowski, Ph.D., senior research scientist at Children’s Health Defense, though the focus in the media has been a lot on the number of departments, the number of field offices, or the number of jobs, “none of those are a metric of success. Secretary Kennedy’s tenure will be judged by the improvement of America’s health.”

HHS to gain control over special education, school meal programs

The HHS restructuring comes as the department is set to gain oversight over federal programs supporting special education programs and school meals.

Education Week reported last week that President Donald Trump announced plans to shift these programs to HHS, although a plan for the changes — which require congressional approval — has not been made public.

As part of these changes, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), first signed into law in 1975 and currently one of the U.S. Department of Education’s largest grant programs, would shift to HHS. The $14.2 billion program “helps schools pay for special education services for students with disabilities,” Education Week reported.

According to Education Week, the announced changes would bring IDEA’s early childhood program, Part C, “into the same agency that already oversees the national Head Start network of early childhood programs — a natural fit for collaboration.”

Shifting school meal programs to HHS “may be motivated in part by Kennedy’s pledge to eliminate processed food from school lunches,” Education Week reported, noting that HHS’ authority over school meals is limited to setting nutrition guidelines.

In a statement to reporters last week, Trump said HHS would oversee “special needs and all of the nutrition programs and everything else.”

“I think that will work out very well,” Trump said. “Those two elements will be taken out of the Department of Education, and then all we have to do is get the students to get guidance from the people that love them and cherish them, including their parents by the way, who will be totally involved in education along with boards and the governors and the states.”

In a post on X, Kennedy said HHS is “fully prepared to take on the responsibility of supporting individuals with special needs and overseeing nutrition programs.”

Zen Honeycutt, founding executive director of Moms Across America and the Neighborhood Food Network, welcomed the announcement. She said:

“Thirty million meals are served at public schools every day. Our children’s health and potential, both with special needs and those without, are greatly affected by the food they eat.

“We have identified widespread contamination of school lunches with heavy metals, pesticides, and veterinary drugs and hormones. The nutrient density is also abysmally low affecting their health, behavior and learning ability.”

Nominee to lead HHS’ Administration of Children and Families focused on child welfare in Idaho

On Tuesday, Trump announced the nomination of Alex Adams, director of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, as assistant secretary for the Administration for Children & Families (ACF) at HHS.

ACF oversees over 60 programs — including Head Start and the U.S. Children’s Bureau — and has a budget of more than $70 billion.

Adams has led the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare since June 2024. He previously served for five years as administrator of the Governor’s Division of Financial Management. He also was executive director of the Idaho Board of Pharmacy and interim director of the Idaho Public Charter School Commission.

During his tenure, Adams prioritized foster care and adoption and a reduction in regulations and bureaucratic processes. He also focused on expanding resources for childcare in Idaho and addressing the opioid crisis by training additional pharmacists, psychologists and nurse practitioners to provide treatment and prescribe medication.

“We felt like child welfare was that area to really hyperfocus on and make a meaningful difference,” Adams told Boise State Public Radio last year.

In a statement, Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) said Adams has “a highly strategic and visionary approach” and “completely transformed and improved Idaho’s child welfare system.”

“I am confident that Adams will serve the American people with pro-family and health-focused policies in mind, and I believe him to be a man of integrity,” said Idaho nurse Laura Demaray.

Leslie Manookian, president and founder of the Health Freedom Defense Fund, said Adams’ reforms in Idaho led to greater public input on health policies. She said:

“We have been fighting the health department for over 15 years because they’re always doing horrible things and overstepping their delegated authority and introducing rules that actually contradict code or overstep code.

“What’s actually really happened is now that members of the public of Idaho can actually testify and request that their legislators fix things, whereas before we were talking to a brick wall because they were in the administrative branch’s hands.”

In recent months, Idaho has enacted or pursued policies that health freedom activists have welcomed. In October 2024, Idaho’s Southwest District Health stopped offering COVID-19 vaccines at its 30 locations. Idaho is now considering legislation that would ban mRNA vaccines and prohibit vaccine and medical mandates.

It’s unclear what role Adams had, if any, in these developments.

According to the Idaho Capital Sun, the U.S. Senate received Adams’ nomination Monday, but it is not yet known when his confirmation hearing will be held.

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