RFK Jr. To Oust Key Health Panel Over ‘Woke’ Nonsense

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly preparing to oust the entire U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a powerful federal advisory panel that helps shape which preventive services, including cancer screenings, are covered by insurance.

The move comes amid mounting concerns that the 16-member panel has prioritized progressive ideology over science. Sources familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal that Kennedy is preparing to remove all current members, mirroring his earlier shake-up of the federal vaccine advisory panel ACIP.

The USPSTF has drawn fire for inserting left-wing social themes into its public health recommendations. Among the examples cited by The American Conservative and spotlighted by Kennedy allies: the task force has claimed “racial discrimination” is a health risk factor for anxiety in youth, has used gender-neutral language such as “pregnant persons,” and has referenced slavery-era trauma in modern discussions of breastfeeding.

While HHS has not formally confirmed the dismissals, a spokesperson stated that Secretary Kennedy “looks forward to working with the USPSTF to improve public health,” indicating that significant changes are coming.

This marks the second major panel overhaul under Kennedy, who already removed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) last month, citing conflicts of interest and a lack of independent scrutiny. He accused the former ACIP of rubber-stamping every vaccine without adequate safety review, noting that “they never recommended against a vaccine—even those later withdrawn for safety issues.”

Under Kennedy’s leadership, the newly restructured ACIP has already begun issuing recommendations with more caution. In its first meeting, the new panel recommended an RSV shot for infants while also urging flu vaccines be free of mercury-based thimerosal. Kennedy quickly moved to cement that guidance.

Now, the same overhaul strategy appears to be headed toward the USPSTF.

Critics of the current task force argue its guidance has become too politicized and out of step with public expectations. The decision to inject race and gender politics into medical recommendations has raised red flags among conservatives and independents alike, especially as trust in major institutions continues to erode.

Supporters of the reforms say Kennedy is fulfilling his promise to restore scientific integrity and public confidence in the nation’s health institutions—something he has made central to his tenure at HHS.

While liberal media outlets are likely to frame the overhaul as politically motivated, RFK Jr. has made clear that his priority is returning health policy to an evidence-based foundation, free from ideological agendas.

Further decisions by Kennedy-appointed panels could reshape decades of public health guidance, from screening schedules to the controversial childhood vaccine slate. And with growing scrutiny of government-backed health advice since the COVID era, RFK Jr.’s moves are certain to draw intense attention from all sides of the political spectrum.