On Feb. 13, 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., previously an environmental lawyer, was sworn in as the 26th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
According to the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Kennedy has the authority to “prepare for and respond to public health and medical emergencies ” as the HHS Secretary.
There are many actions that Kennedy can take as the HHS Secretary, but these actions depend on the circumstances. Regular authorities, or authorities that the HHS Secretary can enforce or take action upon at any time include making grants to state and local agencies, providing awards for expenses, entering into contracts and conducting or supporting investigations into certain diseases or disorders.
When circumstances change, the authorities of the HHS Secretary also change. For example, according to the ASPR, even when there has not been a declaration of a Public Health Emergency, the HHS Secretary can take actions such as initiating a quarantine, waiving certain requirements for drugs covered by risk evaluation and mitigation strategies and maintaining the safety of food, drugs, biological products and medical devices.
In other circumstances, such as when a Public Health Emergency has been declared, Kennedy can take actions such as accessing funds appropriated to the Public Health Emergency Fund, waiving certain requirements from the Drug Supply Chain Security Act and allowing temporary reassignment of State and local personnel, to name a few.
In the case of a Major disaster or Emergency (such as a hurricane or earthquake), Kennedy, along with other Federal Agencies, will be able to mobilize emergency support teams, authorize federal use of state and local government services, hire temporary personnel and provide crisis counseling.
So far, the HHS has taken back the HHS Notice and Guidance on Gender Affirming Care, Civil Rights and Patient Privacy which was previously issued on Mar. 2, 2022. This has been done according to executive order 14187 and 14168, which call for “defending Women from gender ideology”. According to the HHS website, this means that they will not “promote, assist, or support the ‘so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”
The HHS has also released guidance to the government. The guidance is that the government should recognize only two sexes: male and female. The goal of this guidance is to support executive order 14168, which is named “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
These two actions affect hundreds of thousands of people in the United States. According to the UCLA Williams Institute, there are approximately 300,000 transgender youth from the ages of 13-17 in the United States. The Institute also approximates that there are around 1.2 million people in the United States who do not identify as female or male.
These individuals are part of communities around the country, some being part of the community here in St. Charles or at East.
Kennedy has stated that as the HHS Secretary he hopes to “solve the childhood chronic disease epidemic” and to “Make America Healthy Again.” Kennedy has stated that he believes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is corrupt and that no vaccine is completely safe or effective, stances that he will continue to bring into his government position. These stances may be expressed in future administration and will affect the entire country.
