US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Criticized for Lack of Leadership on Public Health Issues

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has served as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services for about a year, faces criticism for the ongoing leadership vacuum in key public‑health agencies. More than half of the 27 institutes at the National Institutes of Health are run by acting directors, the acting chief of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was recently dismissed, and the nation's top drug regulator also lacks permanent leadership. Infectious‑disease expert Michael T. Osterholm warned that “the mission is protecting the health and safety of the American people, and we're confronting serious disease threats without permanent leadership in some of our most important public health agencies.”

The leadership gaps have coincided with a resurgence of preventable diseases such as measles, including a fatal case in Texas that sparked a heated hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee. Representative Linda Sanchez questioned Kennedy on the administration’s decision to end public vaccination messages, to which he offered only a cautious reply. The episode underscores growing tensions within the department and between the secretary and Democratic lawmakers over vaccine policy and broader health‑service reforms.