The MAHA Mirage
President Donald Trump promised to hire “the best people” to lead his administration. His Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., heads an agency whose mission he is undermining. Kennedy has launched his own version of a populist health platform called “MAHA” (Make Americans Healthy Again), touting the benefits of organic food, clean water, and fewer environmental toxins. But while good nutrition and clean environments are important, Kennedy’s actions speak louder than his rhetoric. His drastic cuts to public health and biomedical research threaten to roll back decades of medical progress and endanger the very Americans he claims to protect. When we neglect scientific research, we slow the very innovations that have made modern medicine so effective.
The Department of Health and Human Services oversees critical institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Budget proposals released by Secretary Kennedy’s office indicate sweeping cuts to HHS discretionary spending. According to nonpartisan analysts and preliminary data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the proposed reduction approaches $11.7 billion, or roughly 14% from the previous fiscal year. The NIH would shoulder a large share of this burden, with the National Cancer Institute projected to lose approximately $1.1 billion in funding – a reduction that could result in the elimination of hundreds of grants and delay or suspend numerous ongoing studies. These setbacks would likely slow critical progress in treating cancers such as breast, prostate, and pediatric malignancies.
Beyond cancer, the ripple effects are vast. Funding is being pulled from Alzheimer’s disease research, rare genetic conditions, and emerging infectious disease preparedness. The COVID-19 pandemic taught us the cost of underinvesting in public health infrastructure, yet Kennedy’s proposal inexplicably reduces the CDC’s budget by over 10%, severely limiting CDC’s ability to monitor outbreaks, respond to epidemics, and protect vulnerable communities. Infectious diseases do not care what your political affiliation is. They do not pause for talking points or yield to ideology. They exploit vulnerability. When we weaken our defenses – through disinvestment, misinformation, or political theater – we invite infectious diseases to flourish.
What’s perhaps most troubling is the hypocrisy at the heart of Kennedy’s agenda. He claims to champion health while simultaneously undermining the most effective tools we have to preserve it. Nowhere is this clearer than in his longstanding opposition to routine childhood vaccinations. Despite overwhelming scientific consensus that vaccines are safe and effective, Kennedy has promoted discredited theories linking vaccines to autism and other chronic illnesses. Under his leadership, HHS has signaled it may roll back support for federal immunization programs, which would be catastrophic for American children.
In the 20th century, childhood vaccination programs nearly eradicated diseases like measles, polio, and diphtheria. These are not minor infections—they are killers, especially of children. As pediatricians often say, “Childhood vaccination leads to adulthood.” Without strong federal support, we will see declining immunization rates, rising outbreaks, and entirely preventable deaths. Recent measles outbreaks across the country are evidence of this. With Kennedy in charge, this trend is likely to accelerate.
Most physicians and other healthcare workers around the country are demoralized. There is a doctor shortage. More and more doctors are leaving medicine not just because of burnout, but because they are disheartened by the growing influence of anti-science ideology in government leadership. When public health is politicized, and evidence-based policy is replaced by conspiracy and budget cuts, it becomes harder to practice good medicine. We lose good physicians, reduce access to care, and ultimately sacrifice the health of our patients.
There is a dangerous irony in Kennedy’s approach. He promises to improve American health, but cuts the very programs that do just that. Investing in cancer research saves lives. Funding the CDC prevents epidemics. Supporting the FDA ensures safe medications. Promoting vaccines protects our children. These are not luxuries; they are the foundation of public health.
Improving diet and reducing environmental exposures are worthwhile goals. But they are not a substitute for a functioning, well-funded public health system. If Robert Kennedy Jr. truly wants to Make Americans Healthy Again, he must abandon the hollow slogans and fund the science that saves lives.