Donald J. Trump
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump-appointed secretary of health and human services and member of the president's Make America Healthy Again Commission.
Exact relationships
Money, power & fallout
- Trump formally nominates Kennedy for health secretaryNomination followed by February 13, 2025 swearing-inTrump health secretary nominee · documented · 1 source
- Kennedy takes office as Trump establishes the MAHA CommissionHHS secretary as of September 3, 2026health and human services secretary in Trump's second administration · documented · 3 sources
- FDA layoffs included reviewers working on Musk's NeuralinkReview staff were included in the initial FDA dismissalsTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
- FDA asked fired Neuralink reviewers to return one week laterFDA invited selected scientists, including Neuralink reviewers, back to workTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
- FDA laboratories could not buy routine supplies under DOGE payment controlsLaboratories used exception requests to restore supply purchasesTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
- FDA layoffs put drug and device review deadlines at riskFDA teams reported difficulty meeting statutory product-review deadlinesTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
- HHS restructuring eliminated about 3,500 FDA positionsHHS announced approximately 3,500 FDA position cutsTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
approximately 3,500 positionsFDA positions eliminated
- CDC eliminated a team as it prepared health work for Hurricane Helene survivorsThe planned community health project lost its assigned CDC teamTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
- FDA scientists were asked to volunteer for contracting work after procurement layoffsAgency offices used volunteer workarounds for eliminated contracting capacityTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
- NIOSH cuts halted a first-of-its-kind firefighter cancer studyResearch and outreach were halted after team layoffsTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
more than 23,000 peopleFirefighter cancer registry participants at risk of study disruption
- HHS laid off seven of eight federal firefighter-death investigatorsSeven investigators received layoff notices and 20 investigations faced interruptionTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
7 of 8 peopleFirefighter fatality investigators receiving layoff notices
- NIH terminated research grants after a judge blocked the administration's policyInternal records showed post-order terminations; litigation and restoration efforts continuedTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
- HHS accumulated a billion-dollar grant backlog after DOGE controlsHHS acknowledged delayed grant processing worth about $1 billionTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
commitmentDelayed HHS grant backlogabout $1 billion - Reported commitment source
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Reported intended recipient
- Pending state, university, and nonprofit grantees
- Financially affected
- Program participants and grant-recipient workforces
- Senate minority staff counted $4.49 million lost across three NIH grants$4.49 million minority-staff estimate through July 2025Trump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
lossSenate minority staff counted $4.49 million lost across three NIH grants$4.49 million - Estimated loss source
- National Institutes of Health and grantees
- Estimated gain recipient
- Interrupted research costs
- Loss or cost borne by
- Researchers, study participants, and taxpayers
- More than 20,500 HHS workers left or were pushed outProPublica measured more than 20,500 departures across HHS agenciesTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
more than 20,500 peopleHHS workforce departures
- Experts linked USAID cuts to weaker detection and response in the 2026 DRC Ebola outbreakDRC outbreak response operated without prior U.S. surveillance and preparedness capacityTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
- A closed COVID testing contract released roughly $50.2 million while DOGE showed zeroGAO documented closeout and rescission deobligations absent from DOGE's displayed savingsTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
otherCOVID testing contract deobligations omitted from ledgerapproximately $50.23 million - Observed source
- HHS contract obligation
- Observed recipient
- Available or rescinded federal balance
- Measured subject
- Health budget and federal taxpayers
- HHS restored $4.5 million after DOGE claimed $6.5 million on an epidemic systemContract remained active at $10.9 million after partial termination and new option workTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
contractOption added after epidemic-contract savings claim$4.5 million - Awarded by
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Awarded to
- Epidemic-notification contractor
- Contract / case parties
- Public-health programs and taxpayers
- A $14.7 million HHS registry claim yielded $141,489 in recorded deobligationGAO measured $141,489 deobligated at closeoutTrump-appointed health and human services secretary · documented · 1 source
otherHHS registry funds deobligated$141,489 - Observed source
- HHS contract obligation
- Observed recipient
- Available agency funds
- Measured subject
- Health programs and federal taxpayers
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