Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times: Reflections on HHS Secretary RFK Jr’s tenure

Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, offers her reflections on HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s tenure over the past fifteen months. His vaccine agenda has always been an “outlier”—“an unpopular agenda”—yet it remains at the core of his identity. He has now “hit a wall.” Casey Means’ nomination to be U.S. Surgeon General is stalled; the recruitment of a CDC Director is stalled; Judge Murphy has put a hold on the ACIP and changes in the children’s vaccine regimen. Why did the White House not see the downside? “Fundamentally President Trump does not really care about health.” The MAHA movement, most interested in pesticides and eating healthy foods, “took a leap of faith,” signing on to Trump, yet is now outraged by the White House Executive Order declaring phosphorous—the base of the pesticide glyphosate—as a national security matter. Divorce may follow. “Rumors have been flying” that Secretary Kennedy may be leaving after the midterms. Who will replace him? “Mehmet Oz.”

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Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times: Reflections on HHS Secretary RFK Jr’s tenure is an episode from Take as Directed by CSIS Global Health Policy Center | Center for Strategic and International Studies.

This episode is 38:08 long.

This episode was published on Apr 10, 2026.

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