White House Installs 4 Health Officials as Kennedy's Vaccine Moves Threaten Midterm Support
Updated
Updated · inews · Jun 3
White House Installs 4 Health Officials as Kennedy's Vaccine Moves Threaten Midterm Support
3 articles · Updated · inews · Jun 3
Summary
Four senior officials with drug-pricing experience were installed at HHS in February after White House aides grew concerned Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine actions were alienating average voters before the midterms.
Those concerns followed Kennedy's reversal of confirmation-hearing pledges: he changed vaccine policy, backed a new CDC autism-vaccine study, and oversaw the suppression or rollback of some vaccine-related public health messaging.
His broader management has added to the backlash, including firing or forcing out top NIH, FDA and CDC figures and proposing a $93.8 billion HHS budget that would cut spending 26.2%.
Kennedy has won some praise for tougher federal nutrition guidance targeting ultra-processed foods, but by early 2026 his standing had slipped even inside the administration that elevated him.