New Head of MAHA Revealed as He Lays Bare Radical Plan to Transform US Health… And Ban Covid Shots + More
The Defender’s Government NewsWatch delivers the latest headlines related to news and new developments coming out of federal agencies, including HHS, CDC, FDA, USDA, FCC and others. The views expressed in the below excerpts from other news sources do not necessarily reflect the views of The Defender. Our goal is to provide readers with breaking news that affects human health and the environment.
MAY 14, 2025
New Head of MAHA Revealed as He Lays Bare Radical Plan to Transform US Health… And Ban Covid Shots
A newly appointed health advisor to the Trump-aligned Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative has unveiled a bold plan to overhaul the nation’s health. British cardiologist Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a long-time ally of MAHA leaders like health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and NIH head Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, has joined the movement as Chief Medical Advisor.
As a cardiologist and former advisor to the U.K. government, Dr. Malhotra helped campaign for taxes on sugary drinks, worked to lower the amount of Brits taking statins unnecessarily and worked with government leaders to remove ultraprocessed foods from hospitals and schools. Dr. Malhotra — who has appeared on podcasts with Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson — hopes to bring some of those changes in the U.S. now too.
Speaking to DailyMail.com ahead of the official announcement, Dr. Malhotra outlined his top three priorities — revising national dietary guidelines, cracking down on ultraprocessed foods and pushing for a moratorium on mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
‘We absolutely can make America healthy again in this electoral term,’ Dr. Malhotra said. ‘I’m not here for political reasons. I’m here to reflect the evidence.’
What Kennedy Gets Right About the Chemicals in Our Food
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., believes toxic chemicals in food are behind the U.S. explosion in rates of obesity and a range of other chronic illnesses. “A facade of normalcy has masked this meteoric rise in chronic disease, and we can no longer ignore it,” he said recently. He intends to rid the U.S. food supply of nine chemicals — all petroleum-based, synthetic food dyes — in as soon as 18 months.
Mr. Kennedy has deservedly earned a reputation for embracing pseudoscience and making hyperbolic claims about public health — autism, vaccines, fluoride. But when it comes to the chemicals in our food, the situation may be even worse than he describes. It’s certainly more mysterious than many of us appreciate when we sit down to dinner.
In the U.S., an estimated 10,000 additives are allowed in the food we eat — including flavors, emulsifiers, pesticides, preservatives, ingredients in packaging and, yes, dyes. These chemicals are used in many of the ultraprocessed foods that now comprise most of the calories Americans consume.
In Europe, new food additives are generally presumed unsafe until proved otherwise through scientific review. But the U.S. allows food companies to self-certify the safety of many chemicals without prior Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. This is because of a regulatory pathway known as GRAS, or “generally recognized as safe.” Under GRAS, companies are expected, but not required, to notify the FDA. when they introduce a new chemical that experts they’ve hired deemed OK to use.
As a result, the food industry is often vetting the safety of the ingredients in our food, not federal regulators. Researchers estimate that there are roughly 1,000 chemicals in the food supply whose identities are unknown to regulators. (Mr. Kennedy announced that he’s working to close the GRAS loophole.)
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Touts Primary Care, Agency Reforms and Restructuring to Make America Healthy Again
Primary care will be part of the fight against a chronic disease epidemic plaguing the nation, according to plans of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under President Donald Trump. On May 14, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified about the department’s fiscal year budget before the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies.
The White House has published a budget request with approximately $93.8 billion for HHS, down 26.2% from the fiscal year 2025 budget. “The mission of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS or Department) is to enhance and protect the health and well-being of the American people,” said the start of Kennedy’s written testimony.
“President Trump and all of us at HHS take that charge seriously,” he said. “So, when a program is not as effective as it can be, or costs more than it ought to, or fails to deliver on its promise — change and reform are necessary.”
Kennedy outlined a four-point plan devoted to the initiative to Make America Healthy Again, with a presidential commission devoted to that. His written testimony and his opening statement to the committee included specific mentions of primary care, under a new Administration for a Healthy America.
WHO Vaccine Leader on Eroding Trust in Public Health
Fewer than half of Americans have at least some confidence in the government to respond to disease outbreaks, act independently, or ensure the safety of drugs and vaccines, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll.
This comes as President Trump works to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization; on his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order to start the process. “The U.S. has been such an important partner in WHO, and fundamentally, health is the responsibility of every country’s government,” said Dr. Katherine O’Brien, WHO’s director of the Immunization, Vaccine and Biologicals Department.
“WHO doesn’t have any authority to go into a country or to make countries do anything in particular. So, it’s really the place for discussions. And what’s really difficult is not to have the U.S. at the table for those discussions.”
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