SEN. RAND PAUL: Kennedy is confronting 'corrupt' health agencies to Make America Healthy Again
Print Close
By Rand Paul
Published May 28, 2025
Recently, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy. Let's just say there was no shortage of spirited debate between Kennedy and my Democratic colleagues.
Kennedy is leading a bold effort across his agency and others in the healthcare sphere of the administration — what he calls "MAHA" short for "Make America Healthy Again." I am a strong supporter of Kennedy and his MAHA efforts. So are a vast majority of Americans.
Why? Because Kennedy, like myself, has seen the problem plainly: our federal health agencies — the FDA, CDC, NIH and HHS — have become too cozy with the industries they are supposed to regulate, too resistant to new ideas and too buried in their own bureaucratic bloat.
DOCTORS WARN OF 'TRIFECTA' OF CHRONIC ILLNESSES PLAGUING AMERICANS AFTER MAHA REPORT
Instead of protecting public health, they have helped usher in an epidemic of obesity, chronic illness, mental health issues and disease. Government failure in this arena shouldn't shock anyone — it's the usual cocktail of corruption, complacency, greed and incompetence.
In a House hearing, one Democrat member challenged Kennedy's record and accomplishments in his short tenure at HHS. Kennedy's reply? "You've worked for 20 years on getting food dye out. Give me credit, I got it done in 100 days!" — and without any new government regulations. That kind of decisive action is exactly what we need to improve the health of Americans.
I bring this up to say that I'm pleased with both the breadth and the speed with which HHS and other agencies under MAHA are moving to change things. MAHA is reexamining the childhood vaccine schedule, scrutinizing food additives and advancing a range of reforms that may seem small individually but together add up to meaningful improvements in the health of all Americans.
MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN: TIMELINE OF THE MAHA MOVEMENT
What's most notable about this movement is how it brought together three somewhat distinct groups for change against an entrenched establishment.
Kennedy, once a Democrat, galvanized support from left of center. Libertarians, who've long fought for medical and food freedom, have joined as well.
Lastly, MAHA was embraced by President Donald Trump in his campaign. Together, these three groups are charting a new course.
FDA'S LATEST MAHA MOVE WOULD WIPE OUT KIDS' FLUORIDE PRESCRIPTIONS AS HEALTH RISK EVIDENCE MOUNTS
No prior administration has ever dared to confront Big Pharma head on like this — not rhetorically, not legislative, not structurally, and no other administration has ever empowered its agencies to do so. That's now changing.
This is what real leadership looks like. The bully pulpit being used to great effect. We are seeing companies across America phase out harmful chemicals from things like fast food fries and replacing them with healthy beef tallow. Others are voluntarily swapping artificial dyes and sugars for healthier, more natural ingredients for their products.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
But the bully pulpit has to be matched with true regulatory reform, legislative victories and a coordinated team effort in order to make real, lasting change.
RFK JR'S HEALTH AGENDA GAINS POPULARITY AMONG STATE LAWMAKERS
One lesson we must never forget and can't ever let happen again is the authoritarian way our government responded to COVID-19. From vaccine mandates, forced masking and mask misinformation, to business closures and failed virtual learning, the government massively mishandled the pandemic.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, public health agencies, and school boards alike failed the American people.
That's why I'm most grateful to be working with President Trump, Secretary Kennedy and a host of others in the administration to dig up what was hidden, to find what was never produced previously. What exactly went wrong and who was responsible?
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
What's most notable about this movement is how it brought together three somewhat distinct groups for change against an entrenched establishment.
We will continue to get to the bottom of it, but even in a short time, we have already banned gain-of-function research and restored congressional oversight of how scientific funding and studies are allocated.
There is still a lot of work left to do, but the progress so far has been both swift and substantive. I look forward to continuing this vital work in partnership with the Trump administration and putting the health and freedom of the American people ahead of bureaucratic power and special interests.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM SEN. RAND PAUL Print Close
URL
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/sen-rand-paul-kennedy-confronting-corrupt-health-agencies-make-america-healthy-again
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
11 minutes ago
- Fox News
Federal judge again blocks deportation of anti-Israel Columbia protester
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from detaining a Columbia University student and lawful permanent resident whom federal agents have targeted for deportation after she took part in an anti-Israel demonstration earlier this year. U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald's preliminary injunction on Thursday blocks Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from taking 21-year-old Yunseo Chung into custody. Chung is originally from South Korea and has lived in the U.S. since she was seven years old. ICE had attempted to arrest her in March but were unsuccessful and the court has now barred ICE from detaining her without prior approval. If the government tries to detain Chung for any reason other than her potential deportation, it must give 72 hours' notice to Chung's lawyers and the court and allow the court time to determine if the detention attempt is a pretext for First Amendment retaliation. The ruling also states that she remains free while her legal case proceeds. Ramzi Kassem, co-director of CLEAR, a legal nonprofit at City University of New York that is representing Chung, praised the ruling. "This is a win not just for Yunseo and for the legions of people who stand up for Palestinians and oppose the daily atrocities in Gaza that our government underwrites, but also for freedom of speech and the rule of law in our country," Kassem said in a statement, per the Washington Post. It comes after the same judge in March ordered immigration officials to cease their efforts to arrest Chung. The Trump administration has alleged that her participation in a protest poses a potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequence for the United States. Chung's attorneys say that the government's pursuit of the Columbia student is an "unjustifiable assault on [the] First Amendment." Chung sued the government earlier this year. The lawsuit states that Chung was a participant in the anti-Israel protests, not a leader, and was "one of a large group of college students" expressing "shared concerns" over the war in Gaza. Chung, according to the lawsuit, "visited" the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, a number of tents organized in the center of campus, but does not state whether she stayed there. The lawsuit also makes it clear that she did not make public statements or engage in high-profile activities while at the protests. Chung's lawsuit states that she was never arrested or disciplined in relation to events at the encampment. However, she was later arrested during a 2025 protest at Barnard College. The lawsuit claims that it is common in New York City for police to arrest many protesters and that charges are usually dropped or dismissed. The lawsuit states that on March 8, an ICE official signed an administrative arrest warrant for Chung and federal law enforcement went to Chung's parents' house the next day seeking to arrest her. An ICE official allegedly told Chung's attorneys on March 10 that her green card had been "revoked," according to the lawsuit. The government has the authority to rescind permanent resident status if it believes that a person has violated U.S. immigration law. Chung's attorneys say in the lawsuit that law enforcement searched Chung's dorm room on March 13 in accordance with a warrant. She was valedictorian of her high school senior class and has a near-perfect GPA heading into her senior year, according to court documents. Chung is double-majoring in English and women's and gender studies at Columbia, the Washington Post reported. The Trump administration has also sought to deport former Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, whom it accuses of playing a major role in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University.
CNN
11 minutes ago
- CNN
Trump tells CNN he's ‘not even thinking about Elon' and won't speak to him ‘for a while'
President Donald Trump told CNN on Friday he is 'not even thinking about' billionaire Elon Musk and won't be speaking to him in the near future. 'I'm not even thinking about Elon. He's got a problem. The poor guy's got a problem,' Trump told CNN's Dana Bash. The comments come after a day Trump and Musk traded barbs on social media as their relationship deteriorated in spectacular public fashion. Trump said Thursday he was 'very disappointed' with the tech billionaire for criticizing his massive tax and spending cuts package while Musk fired back that 'Trump would have lost the election' without him. In a brief phone call, Trump talked about the forthcoming jobs report, inflation and gas prices. Asked if he had a call with Musk, the president responded: 'No. I won't be speaking to him for a while I guess, but I wish him well.' As the two powerful onetime friends duked it out online on Thursday, their shared allies sought to quietly broker a truce, CNN previously reported. Musk, for his part, appeared open to a thaw. 'You're not wrong,' Musk responded to a post from billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who wrote on X: 'I support @realDonaldTrump and @elonmusk and they should make peace for the benefit of our great country. We are much stronger together than apart.'
CNBC
11 minutes ago
- CNBC
Watch CNBC's full interview with House Speaker Mike Johnson
House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the public feud between President Trump and Elon Musk, Musk's criticism of the GOP reconciliation package, fate of the bill in the Senate, cutting government spending, and more.
