Even before he assumed the role of secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was more than clear about the transformation he hoped to see at the agency he now leads.
The strong, sometimes controversial positions Kennedy has taken on issues ranging from food additives to vaccines have caused no end of concern among the D.C. establishment, and they have reportedly now led to the departure of Dr. Peter Marks from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as Fox News reports.
Fox News cited a report in the Wall Street Journal claiming that due to his disagreement with Kennedy, particularly on matters related to vaccines, Marks, currently serving as director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, was given the option of either resigning from his role or being fired from it.
Specifically, Marks took issue with Kennedy's outspoken positions on vaccine safety, including what he believes are the HHS head's dangerous views.
A resignation letter reportedly submitted by Marks did little to quell rumors of a fundamental – and apparently intractable -- conflict with his new boss.
“It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,” the letter states.
The resignation of Marks, who served as a key figure in the first Trump administration's COVID-19 vaccine development program known as Operation Warp Speed, will become effective on April 5.
Reacting to the impending departure of Marks from the FDA was Dr. Paul Offit, a noted vaccine expert working at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Offit was clear in his belief that Marks was wrongfully forced out of a job by Kennedy and that his ouster represents a significant loss for the agency, as the Associated Press reports.
“RFK Jr.'s firing of Peter Marks because he wouldn't bend a knee to his misinformation campaign now allows the fox to guard the hen house. It's a sad day for America's children,” Offit lamented.
Also reacting to the news was former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, who said that Marks' resignation letter itself “should be frightening to anyone committed to the importance of evidence to guide policies and patient decisions.”
Califf continued, “I hope this will intensify the communication across academia, industry and government to bolster the importance of science and evidence.”
Despite his critics, Kennedy is moving full steam ahead on reforming HHS, as The Hill notes, standing in support of the Trump administration's recently announced decision to cut 10,000 jobs at the agency as he works to fulfill the promise to attack America's illness epidemic.
“We're not cutting front-line workers, we're cutting administrators, and we're consolidating the agency to make it more efficient,” Kennedy said on Thursday,” adding that his goal is to “focus the mission so that everybody who is at HHS is going to wake up every morning and say, 'What am I going to do today to Make America Healthy Again,'” and that is a position with which millions can get on board.
