Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy said parents should have confidence in every bottle of formula and that manufacturers will be held to rigorous scientific standards with infant health first.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said parents deserve confidence in every bottle they feed their baby, and that infant-formula manufacturers would be held to rigorous scientific standards with babies' health coming first

Kennedy, per an HHS notice, determined the limited enforcement-discretion policy will curb widespread use of risky foreign-made research-use-only peptides.

has determined that this limited enforcement-discretion policy will discourage the continued, widespread use of certain research-use-only peptides supplied by foreign manufacturers that pose a safety risk to US patients.

Kennedy, per the notice, determined the policy advances patient choice and freedom while appropriately protecting safety.

has determined that the policy advances patient choice and freedom while appropriately protecting patient safety.

Kennedy pledged to hold infant formula makers to rigorous scientific standards, putting babies' health first, as FDA proposed updated nutrient rules.

"Parents deserve confidence in every bottle they feed their baby," ... "We will hold infant formula manufacturers to rigorous scientific standards and put babies' health first."

Kennedy said HHS will hold infant formula makers to rigorous scientific standards and prioritize babies' health.

"Parents deserve confidence in every bottle they feed their baby," HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement, in part. "We will hold infant formula manufacturers to rigorous scientific standards and put babies' health first."

Kennedy decided that HHS's non-enforcement policy on six unapproved peptides advances patient choice and freedom, as stated in an HHS document.

advances patient choice and freedom

Kennedy, via an HHS document, justified not enforcing against compounding of six unapproved peptides as advancing patient choice and freedom.

Kennedy decided that the new policy "advances patient choice and freedom," HHS said in a corresponding document.

Kennedy argued that the US must find ways to grow food without poisoning children, causing cancer or destroying soils, and called for leaders who understand these issues.

We have to figure out a way to grow food without poisoning our kids, without giving ourselves cancer, without destroying the soils that enrich us and enrich our microbiome

Kennedy said many Americans believe government has been captured by profit interests and colluded with polluters, citing his past environmental work.

They had come to the conclusion that many Americans have now come to: that government was in cahoots with the polluters, and that our government had been captured by profit interests, and we're stealing something fundamental from the American people

Kennedy said the Great American Recovery Initiative will reorient addiction recovery toward value-based, lifelong comprehensive care that increasingly includes faith-based programs.

"Our plan of Great American Recovery is to reorient recovery towards value-based recovery in this country," Kennedy said. "We follow the addict comprehensively over the lifetime, from detox to rehab to housing to jobs and stability. And that's value-based care — but also to include more and more faith-based care, and that's one of the reasons we came here to Sheepgate."

Kennedy said the Biden-era restriction was reversed but obstacles remain, and HHS wants to find ways to federally fund privately supported faith-based recovery programs.

"We've changed that policy at the top, but there are still impediments to us getting the money to these kind of programs," Kennedy said. "This program is entirely funded by private donors, and that's getting harder and harder for them to do. And we want to make sure that these kind of programs — they serve such a critical role — we want to make sure that they continue to function."

HHS under Kennedy determined that allowing compounding of certain peptides advances patient choice and freedom while appropriately protecting safety (a statement in an HHS document, attributed to the Secretary).

the Secretary has determined that the policy advances patient choice and freedom while appropriately protecting patient safety.

Kennedy says HHS's updated Alzheimer's plan shifts toward prevention, earlier detection and stronger support for patients and families, grounded in gold-standard science.

We are advancing gold-standard science, reducing risk where we can, improving care and giving patients and families stronger support at every stage of the disease,

Kennedy argued that imported seafood is lower quality than U.S.-caught fish and said the Trump administration is rebuilding infrastructure and reopening markets for American commercial fishermen.

"No European country will take them, so they ship them all over here," Kennedy said, referring to shrimp. "President Trump is rebuilding the infrastructure, he's reopening the markets for our commercial fishermen."

Kennedy said that dementia work is tied to the broader fight against chronic diseases, and that addressing risk factors like hypertension, diabetes and obesity can protect brain health.

High blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and physical inactivity connect our work on dementia to a broader fight against all these other chronic diseases. By addressing these risks, we can help Americans protect their brain health as they age.

Kennedy said HHS's Kidney Care National Plan aims to detect kidney disease earlier, expand home care, remove barriers to innovation and transplantation, and help more Americans avoid kidney failure.

Now HHS is building on that work by detecting kidney disease earlier, expanding treatment and home-care options, removing barriers to innovation and transplantation, and strengthening safety across the transplant system. Our goal is simple: preserve kidney health, give patients more choices, and help more Americans avoid kidney failure and live longer, healthier lives,

Kennedy said HHS is giving Florida and Alabama providers flexibility to keep essential care available through Hurricane Isaias response and recovery.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, HHS is giving healthcare providers in Florida and Alabama the flexibility to keep caring for patients in the wake of Hurricane Isaias,” Kennedy, Jr. said in an email statement. “We are helping them maintain essential services, respond quickly as needs change, and keep care available throughout the response and recovery.”

Kennedy defended HHS's shift to concentration limits on kratom compounds MGPI and 7-OH, saying it followed public input and science.

We listened to the public, followed the science, and developed a clear recommended threshold,

Kennedy said ultra-processed foods make up nearly 60% of the American diet and that reversing chronic disease requires transforming the food system.

Nearly 60 percent of the American diet is made up of ultra-processed foods, and childhood obesity now affects more than one in five American children. We cannot reverse America’s chronic disease epidemic without transforming our food system.

Kennedy defended HHS by saying the surveillance program was not cut and that the FoodNet cuts only removed redundant surveillance.

We had no cuts in the surveillance program," he said at the time. "We did cuts in the FoodNet program, but they were redundant surveillance.

Kennedy warned that kratom compounds such as MGPI and 7-OH, along with related synthetic substances, endanger American lives.

put American lives at risk.

Kennedy told the Senate health committee that he would spend whatever money Congress appropriates.

"If you appropriate the money, I will spend it," he assured the Senate health committee this April.

Kennedy said he is a big fan of peptides and that he has used them on a couple of injuries with really good effect.

Kennedy told podcaster Joe Rogan — who endorsed Trump in the 2024 election but has also pushed back on the administration over several issues — that he was "a big fan of peptides." The health secretary said he's used peptides on a couple of injuries and "with really good effect" in the February episode.

Kennedy downplayed the Texas measles outbreak in February 2025, calling such outbreaks not unusual and saying they occur every year.

In February 2025, when a measles outbreak was spreading in western Texas, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said measles outbreaks were "not unusual," adding that they happen every year.