The MAHA Scam

An elephant wearing a suit and holding a flamethrower, setting the CDC on fire. The MAGA Scan, by Jason Caselli, PT, DPT

 

by Jason Caselli, WashCo Dems Communications Committee Member

On May 22nd, 2025, the Trump Administration published two documents detailing how it would address public health through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). These documents, titled “The MAHA Report”, and “The MAHA Strategy”, laid out a scientific foundation and strategy for ending childhood chronic disease, among other public health causes. The four pillars of the MAHA plan to end childhood chronic disease were listed as, “Advance Research, Realign Incentives, Foster Private Sector Collaboration, and Increase Public Awareness.” 1 The man leading this agenda is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has had a complex and conflicting history of championing both progressive and regressive values on the political stage. Despite the claims and aims of the MAHA Agenda, the first year of Robert Kennedy Jr’s tenure revealed a sinister plot to defund and reform critical health agencies, advance bad science, and corroborate scientifically unfounded theories to placate the growing population of misinformed voters who comprise a substantial fraction of the American electorate. First, it is important to understand who this man is, and why he was a controversial pick to begin with.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr, or RFK Jr. for short, was a former environmental lawyer who had previously been considered, but never selected, for top level positions in previous administrations, including the Obama administration. 2  He is neither physician nor a scientist in any field. Before his confirmation, he faced overwhelming opposition from the scientific community, including a scathing letter signed by 77 Nobel Laureates and a letter signed by 17,000 physicians from the Committee to Protect Health Care. 3, 4 Prior to his appointment to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr. ran an unsuccessful political campaign as an Independent. He was infamous for touting scientifically unsubstantiated claims celebrated by conspiracy theorists, including the theories that vaccines cause autism, psychiatric drugs cause mass shootings, COVID vaccines were developed to attack Caucasians and Black people, and several others. 5 However, he had also been an advocate against industrial polluters in the coal and farm industry and supported indigenous peoples in their fight to reduce pollutants. 6 This tumultuous history fueled the concern of the Nobel Laureates and physicians who opposed his appointment. He was sworn into office as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on February 13, 2025. Since then, RFK Jr’s deluded and damaging actions have substantiated the innumerable claims by health experts who opposed his appointment.

Since its inception, Trump and RFK Jr’s HHS has waged a campaign to permanently defund and disable the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the main scientific and regulatory bodies tasked with improving America’s health. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a federal medical science agency whose goals include, “to foster fundamental creative discoveries, innovative research strategies, and their applications as a basis for ultimately protecting and improving health” among others. 7 The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is a public health agency responsible for promoting health, examining root causes of disease, and responding to public health threats. 11 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for “protecting the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices; and by ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.”37 To understand the full scope of the damage done by this backwards administration, it is important to detail a full timeline of the many destructive events conducted by Trump and RFK Jr’s HHS since January 20, 2025. 

On January 21st, 2025, then acting Secretary of HHS, Dorothy Fink, issued an order prohibiting agencies under its umbrella (NIH, CDC and FDA) from issuing public health advisories, publishing scientific papers, updating their websites, announcing regulatory decisions, or conducting patient outreach unless explicitly approved by the new administration with a deadline of February 1st, 2025. 12 This unusual announcement was opposed, in writing, by 34 state senators. 12 The announcement delayed the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for the first time in 60 years, delaying reporting on the H5N1 bird flu outbreak which left physicians without much-needed treatment recommendations during a dangerous flu season. 12 On its very first day, the Trump administration violated ordinary decorum and endangered the public.

On February 7th, 2025, HHS imposed a 15% cap on indirect costs for grants, meaning no more than 15% of the budget could be used to cover expensive costs like rent or utilities for both existing and future grants. 8 Indirect costs at reliable, storied institutions such as Harvard, UPenn, Yale, MIT, and Stanford range from 50-60% typically, and are partly due to the high real-estate, equipment, and utility costs in those areas, making this yet another unprecedented and ill-advised budgetary restriction. This 15% cap instantly created a $50-200 million deficit at each of America’s top research institutions, and funding for critical research on diseases like Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and cancer was suddenly in severe jeopardy. 18 Thanks to the decisive action of Massachusetts Federal Judge Angel Kelley on February 21st, 2025, this unrealistic and dangerous cap was delayed and reversed. 10 

On February 14th, 2025, the first day after RFK Jr. was sworn in, 5200 probationary employees (recent hires) were fired between both the NIH, CDC, and FDA. An additional 1300 employees at the CDC, and 1500 employees at the NIH were laid off. This day was deemed the “Valentine’s Day Massacre.” 13, 14 This unprecedented mass termination of federal health workers included a top expert overseeing the safety of infant formula and staff responsible for the response to the actively prevalent avian flu. 16 Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and a key expert involved in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, and Jim Jones, the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods both resigned due to pressure by RFK Jr.  15 Their resignation letters detailed their worry about RFK Jr’s vaccine skepticism amid the growing outbreak of measles in Texas which can be attributed to misinformation prevalent in the growing fundamental conservative movements of Texas who rely on bogus remedies endorsed by RFK Jr. 33, 34 In addition, the flu vaccine advisory committee meeting responsible for determining the composition of the flu vaccine for the upcoming season was delayed. 17 At the end of his very first day on the job, RFK JR. had already caused irreparable harm to America’s health, institutions and impaired vaccine safety in our country.

Throughout March and early April, the chaos continued. Judge James Bredar of Maryland ordered the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate the fired probationary workers for at least two weeks, and Judge William Alsup of California determined that the firings were improperly administered by the Office of Personnel Management. 20 After receiving the rulings, the workers were rehired until the US Supreme Court (including 3 Trump appointees) eventually overturned these rulings, allowing tens of thousands of these probationary workers to be re-fired or laid off. 22 One of the ramifications of this political bloodbath included the elimination of the CDC’s Lead Poisoning and Surveillance Team at a time when they were actively working with Milwaukee, Wisconsin and American Indian tribes to reduce lead exposure in children in their communities. RFK Jr. claimed that this work would be discontinued temporarily until the founding of a new branch of HHS. 23 He later stated that there were many terminated personnel and programs that “should not have been cut” and that reinstating them “was always part of the plan”. 26 The “planned mistake” affected 20%, or 4000, of the workers. 32 Despite being the head of the HHS, RFK JR. simultaneously blamed the Department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon Musk for the mistake while claiming it was part of a grander plan.32 The chaotic climate caused by this legal battle ended with an approximate 25% reduction of the total workforce at the DHHS by the end of 2025, totaling approximately 20,000 workers. 30

During the remainder of April 2025, an internal document revealed the Trump administration’s plan to cut the overall HHS budget by 40%. 24 NIH’s budget would be reduced by 40%, or about $21.2 billion dollars, and its 27 institutions would be reduced to eight, with several agencies consolidated under NIH or moved to the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA) along with several programs which would be discontinued pending legislation to fund creation of the AHA. CDC’s budget would be reduced by 44%, or about 5.2 billion dollars, the Global Health Center was eliminated, the HIV and AIDS programs were discontinued, and two peer-reviewed journals were eliminated among several other adverse changes.  9, 19, 25 The FDA’s role in the direct inspection of food facilities would be eliminated. 25  On April 21st, 2025, RFK Jr’s NIH also released a notice outlining a requirement that any NIH grant recipient must not “advance or promote DEI, DEIA, or discriminatory equity ideology in violation of Federal anti-discrimination laws” nor should they “engage in a discriminatory prohibited boycott.” 27 This means that any grant recipient participating in a DEI/DEIA program, such as providing services to the blind or underserved minority communities, would be excluded from NIH funding. In addition, the “discriminatory prohibited boycott” mentioned was specifically defined as a boycott related to the state of Israel and its actions in Palestine. 27 28 This notice was later rescinded in June 2025. 29 On May 30th, the 1224- page budget document was officially proposed, with a total of $31.3 billion worth of cuts to the NIH, CDC, and FDA. This amounted to a finalized 25% budget reduction from the prior year, with $14 billion dollars being allocated to the anticipated creation of RFK Jr’s AHA. This enormous document is available for review at whitehouse.gov, and I encourage readers to look at it since there are far too many changes to list in one article. 31 

In June 2025, RFK Jr. furthered his frenzied, reactionary assault on vaccine science in America by firing all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The American Medical Association, a body of physician experts with the mission to advance public health, condemned RFK Jr’s crazed mass-firing campaign. The first eight members of the committee he chose to replace the previous ACIP members were outspoken vaccine skeptics with little or no experience in the field of vaccine research. 36  However, this is not the first time RFK Jr’s delusions have endangered lives. RFK Jr’s false and dangerous advocacy against the safety of MMR vaccines directly led to the sickening of more than 5700 and the death of 83 American Samoans, many of which were children, in 2018 during a measles outbreak in Samoa. 35 

On September 22nd, 2025, RFK Jr’s HHS called a press conference in the Roosevelt room to announce that Acetaminophen, the generic form of Tylenol, was to blame for the rise in autism spectrum disorder. The announcement would come with a mandate for new labeling on Acetaminophen to indicate these “dangers”.41 As a licensed clinician who assisted in conducting research at both Arizona State University and the Mayo Clinic Rochester, I am at least modestly trained in clinical appraisal. The study cited by the HHS used data from a prospective cohort study with a sample size of 996 women observed over the course of 20 years. The results indicated that several factors in the study were associated with the presence of neurodevelopmental disorders in children, including high BMI, being non-hispanic white, having a child out of wedlock, high maternal stress levels, smoking/alcohol use before/during pregnancy, maternal age, being born preterm, having low birth weight and acetaminophen usage.42 A prospective cohort study cannot prove causation, it can only prove associations. For example, if a cohort study shows that more people buy popsicles on hot days, it does not prove that buying popsicles causes hot weather, it is merely associated. If the Trump administration wishes to tie acetaminophen usage to Autism using this study, then they must equally associate being white, obese, and stressed as well. However, neither links are valid proof of causation.

During the October 2025 government shutdown, the NIH, CDC, and FDA were devastated. Some of the primary issues triggering the shutdown was the Republican party’s refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits and commitment to slashing close to $1 trillion from Medicaid through 2034. 38, 39 41% of staff across the HHS were furloughed, with CDC furloughing 64% and NIH furloughing 75% of its staff. RFK Jr’s CDC laid off more than a thousand additional workers during the shutdown. 38 The Trump administration and the Republican majority in the House of Representatives and Senate repeatedly lay all blame for the government shutdown at the feet of Democratic leaders, but several polls indicated that American people placed blame on the dominant Republican party. 40 

In one year, Trump and RFK Jr’s Department of Health and Human Services has significantly damaged major American research institutions tasked with improving the health of American citizens. This timeline is not comprehensive, and many other consequential events took place which were too long to list. However, I hope this gives an idea of the level of damage that Trump and RFK Jr’s HHS has done to the American healthcare apparatus. If the MAHA goal was to advance research, then it failed. MAHA’s agenda has only served to destroy the medical research industry in America as a result of its mass-firings, restructuring, and entrenching of radical quacks in positions of public trust. If MAHA’s goal was to realign incentives, then it failed to do so in any positive way. Putting out notices that universities will not be funded if they support diversity, equity and inclusion criteria or boycott genocidal nation-states only reveals the moral bankruptcy of the administration. If MAHA’s goal was to foster private sector collaboration, then it failed to do so in any positive way. The only private sector collaboration MAHA is fostering is collaboration with major industries to roll back regulations on monopolistic companies putting poison like mercury and PFAS in our food and drinking water so they will invest money in Trump and RFK Jr’s campaigns. 43,44 If MAHA’s goal was to increase public awareness, then it has failed. RFK Jr and Trump have decreased public awareness of legitimate health issues like autism and instead pointed to conspiracy boogeymen like Tylenol and vaccinations as causes of neurodevelopment disorders while simultaneously rolling back regulations on poisons which actually do cause neurodevelopment disorders.45 The MAHA agenda has been a scam through and through, and more damage is on the horizon.

Now, more than ever, it is important to make your voice heard on these issues. Any individuals working in these industries, such as academics, healthcare providers and others who experience the ramifications of the Trump administration’s blatant destruction of the healthcare apparatus in this country must come forward. There needs to be a public record of the many adverse events so that legal retribution can have material basis and public support. While it may seem hopeless right now, the American people will have the last word. We will overcome and outlast their corruption. Do not stay silent.

 

Sources:

  1. The White House. MAHA Report – Make America Healthy Again. The White House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/maha/. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  2. Grandoni D. RFK Jr. was linked to, but never got, top-tier environmental job. POLITICO Pro / E&E News. November 13, 2023. https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2023/11/13/rfk-jr-was-linked-to-but-never-got-top-tier-environmental-job-00126798. 
  3. Beckett L. Nobel laureates write letter opposing RFK Jr.’s HHS nomination. The Guardian. December 10, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/10/fk-hhs-nomination-nobel-laureates-letter. 
  4. CBS News. Doctors urge Senate to reject RFK Jr. as health secretary. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doctors-senate-rfk-jr-health-secretary/. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  5. Czopek M, Sanders K. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign of conspiracy theories: PolitiFact’s 2023 Lie of the Year. PolitiFact. December 21, 2023. https://www.politifact.com/article/2023/dec/21/robert-f-kennedy-jrs-campaign-of-conspiracy-theori/. 
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  7. National Institutes of Health. Mission and Goals. NIH. https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/mission-goals. Reviewed March 2, 2026. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
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  9. Lenzer J. RFK Jr.’s approach to health at HHS raises concerns. BMJ. 2025;389:r798. https://www.bmj.com/content/389/bmj.r798.full. 
  10. Norris T. Judge permanently blocks NIH’s plan to cap funding, setting up appeals battle. Higher Ed Dive. https://www.highereddive.com/news/judge-permanently-blocks-nihs-plan-to-cap-funding-setting-up-appeals-batt/744647/. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  11. USA.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.usa.gov/agencies/centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  12. Senator Mazie K. Hirono. Letter to HHS on funding and communications freeze. February 6, 2025. https://www.hirono.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/20250206lettertohhsonfundingandcommunicationsfreeze.pdf. 
  13. Huang P, Neuman S. CDC layoffs: What’s happening and what it means for public health. NPR. February 14, 2025. https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/14/nx-s1-5297913/cdc-layoffs-hhs-trump-doge. 
  14. Facher L. Federal employee layoffs at HHS, CDC on first day Robert Kennedy is health secretary. STAT News. February 14, 2025. https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/14/federal-employee-layoffs-at-hhs-cdc-on-first-day-robert-kennedy-health-secretary/. 
  15. Xtalks. HHS layoffs update: FDA, NIH, and CDC layoffs, resignations, and new hires. Xtalks. https://xtalks.com/hhs-layoffs-update-fda-nih-and-cdc-layoffs-resignations-and-new-hires-4181/. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  16. Food Safety Magazine. RFK Jr. confirmed as HHS secretary; widespread firings coming to FDA, CDC. Food Safety Magazine. https://www.food-safety.com/articles/10134-rfk-jr-confirmed-as-hhs-secretary-widespread-firings-coming-to-fda-cdc. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  17. BioPharma Dive. HHS/FDA restructuring layoffs tracker. BioPharma Dive. https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/hhs-fda-restructuring-layoffs-tracker/741684/. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  18. Rao D. Understanding NIH’s 15% overhead cap. Deli Prao Substack. https://deliprao.substack.com/p/understanding-nihs-15-overhead-cap. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
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  20. Fox News Noticias. Second judge orders Trump admin to rehire probationary workers let go in mass firings. Fox News. https://noticias.foxnews.com/politics/second-judge-orders-trump-admin-rehire-probationary-workers-let-go-mass-firings.print. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  21. Fierce Healthcare. HHS probationary firings reversed by judge; threat of more terminations looms. Fierce Healthcare. https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/hhs-probationary-firings-reversed-judge-threat-more-terminations-loom. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
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  24. FABBS. HHS budget leaked; includes NIH reorganization. FABBS. April 2025. https://fabbs.org/news/2025/04/hhs-budget-leaked-includes-nih-reorganization/. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  25. Fierce Healthcare. HHS budget slashed $40 billion: First look at HHS reorganization leaked document. Fierce Healthcare. https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/regulatory/hhs-budget-slashed-40-billion-first-look-hhs-reorganization-leaked-document. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  26. USA Today. RFK Jr. acknowledges some HHS staff cuts were a mistake. USA Today. April 3, 2025. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/03/rfk-hhs-staff-cuts-mistake/82801001007/. 
  27. National Institutes of Health. NIH Notice NOT-OD-25-090. NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-25-090.html. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  28. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Israel has committed genocide in Gaza Strip, UN commission finds. OHCHR. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/israel-has-committed-genocide-gaza-strip-un-commission-finds. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  29. National Institutes of Health. NIH Notice NOT-OD-25-124. NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-25-124.html. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
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  31. Office of Management and Budget. Appendix, Fiscal Year 2026 Budget of the U.S. Government. The White House. May 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/appendix_fy2026.pdf. 
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  33. BBC News. Top Vaccine Official Forced to Resign. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8r87z8vl0o. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  34. Texas Tribune. Texas measles outbreak and misinformation about vaccines. Texas Tribune. April 16, 2025. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/16/texas-measles-misinformation-vaccines/. 
  35. FactCheck.org. SciCheck: Factchecking Robert F. Kennedy Jr. FactCheck.org. August 9, 2023. https://www.factcheck.org/2023/08/scicheck-factchecking-robert-f-kennedy-jr/. 
  36. American Progress. RFK Jr. is systematically undermining vaccine science and endangering health. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/rfk-jr-is-systematically-undermining-vaccine-science-and-endangering-health/. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  37. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. What We Do. FDA. https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/what-we-do. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
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  39. American Progress. $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, $1 trillion in tax giveaways for the richest 1 percent: the One Big Beautiful Bill’s budget math. Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/1-trillion-in-medicaid-cuts-1-trillion-in-tax-giveaways-for-the-richest-1-percent-the-one-big-beautiful-bills-budget-math/. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  40. Washington Post. Trump shutdown blame poll. Washington Post. October 30, 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/30/trump-shutdown-blame-poll/. 
  41. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HHS Trump-Kennedy autism initiatives: leucovorin, Tylenol research 2025. HHS Press Room. 2025. https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/hhs-trump-kennedy-autism-initiatives-leucovorin-tylenol-research-2025.html. 
  42. Yuelong J. et al. Association of Cord Plasma Biomarkers of In Utero Acetaminophen Exposure with Risk of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Childhood. PMC/NCBI. 2019. PMC6822099. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6822099/. 
  43. PBS NewsHour. Trump administration moves to roll back limits on forever chemicals in drinking water. PBS NewsHour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trump-administration-moves-to-roll-back-limits-on-forever-chemicals-in-drinking-water. Accessed May 21, 2026. 
  44. E&E News. RFK Jr., once poisoned by mercury, is silent as EPA weakens rules against it. E&E News. https://www.eenews.net/articles/rfk-jr-once-poisoned-by-mercury-is-silent-as-epa-weakens-rules-against-it/. Accessed May 21, 2026.
  45. Claudia O. et al. Neurodevelopmental Effects of Mercury. PMC/NCBI. 2020. PMC7188190. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7188190/.