HHS Chief Kennedy's Peptide Problem: Warrior or Woke?

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

The past few days have delivered a relentless news cycle for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current Secretary of Health and Human Services, accelerating both his public profile and controversy count. Major headlines have focused on his possible plan to oust every member of the US Preventive Services Task Force, sparking immediate backlash from the medical establishment and national political press. According to The Wall Street Journal and further detailed by CBS News and STAT, Kennedy views the Task Force as too woke and reportedly plans to replace its 16 unpaid medical experts who guide which preventive health treatments are covered by insurers. The American Medical Association wasted no time in firing off a public letter urging Kennedy to keep the panel intact and condemning the disruption as dangerous to evidence-based care. HHS spokespeople are keeping the suspense alive, telling several outlets that no final decision has been made, but the drama alone has already made waves with health policy watchers.

While this controversy was brewing, Kennedy was busy working his media and policy agenda out West. Last week, he toured Colorado and Idaho to push his Make America Healthy Again initiative, according to an official HHS press release and reinforced by local political coverage. In Boise, he appeared alongside Idaho Governor Brad Little, praising the state’s so-called medical freedom laws and declaring Idaho “the home of medical freedom.” He congratulated state leaders for banning the use of federal food assistance for candy and soda, and for passing legislation that prohibits businesses from denying service to people who choose not to treat their illnesses. Unsurprisingly, the visit attracted both supporters and vocal protesters. On the lighter side, Kennedy was photographed at the 2025 Department of Defense Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, shaking hands with athletes and giving the kind of public support photo-ops designed to solidify his leadership image.

Business and regulatory activity involving Kennedy has bled into the alternative medicine sphere. ProPublica reports that peptide injections—a nonstandard therapy that Kennedy has promoted as a weapon against aging and chronic disease—left two women critically ill at a Las Vegas longevity conference earlier this month. The peptide vendor in question, already known for pushing regulatory limits, operated at the event without Nevada medical credentials. Federal and state investigations into the safety of these therapies and Kennedy’s ties to their promotion are active and likely to keep generating headlines.

Finally, on social media, Kennedy’s tour updates and pronouncements have been echoed by the official HHS account—plus he’s been mentioned repeatedly in the context of the ongoing preventive care panel controversy. While the Task Force drama is likely to define his biographical narrative for months or even years, Kennedy seems determined to test the outer boundaries of both medical regulation and public patience with sharp, headline-ready moves.

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