President Donald Trump’s administration has created an existential crisis for several government agencies and departments — few more critical than the National Institutes of Health. There already are reports detailing how deep cuts at the NIH could curtail research into infectious diseases — a particularly disturbing development as bird flu spreads throughout the U.S.
And as I read these reports, I couldn’t help but think that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to serve as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, is probably licking his chops over this. Because Kennedy is on the record as saying he’d like to pause all infectious disease research in the country.
Kennedy is on the record as saying he’d like to pause all infectious disease research in the country.
During his failed presidential campaign, as NBC News reported back in 2023, Kennedy stated his intent to shut down infectious disease research if elected president.
“I’m gonna say to NIH scientists: God bless you all,” Kennedy said. “Thank you for public service. We’re going to give infectious disease a break for about eight years.”
What a wild quote. Many folks need and deserve a break these days. Infectious diseases do not.
But to hear Kennedy tell it, infectious disease research is some sort of distraction from chronic illness. After Kennedy made similar remarks at one of his confirmation hearings, NBC News reported on — and debunked — Kennedy’s false suggestion that the federal government provides ample money for infectious disease research but far less for study of chronic conditions, such as obesity. Here, it’s worth noting that many infectious diseases are treated with vaccines, which Kennedy has made a career deriding with conspiratorial nonsense.
The Trump administration’s NIH cuts may have been the result of a haphazard slash-and-burn strategy. But it can’t be ignored how much they serve the interests of the man in line to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
