Just over a year ago, President Donald Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which sets policies and manages programs that directly affect every American.
The Secretary wasted no time implementing his Make America Healthy Again agenda. One year in, it’s worth taking stock of what has worked — and what hasn’t.
There’s no question that Americans, especially children, are suffering from a chronic disease crisis. The U.S. has lower life expectancy than other developed nations, and poorer health outcomes stem at least in part from poor nutrition and environmental pollutants.
2025 delivered progress around food and nutrition. For example, food manufacturers agreed to phase out eight synthetic dyes by the end of 2026. That achievement was widely praised, as it followed years of bipartisan efforts to remove the harmful additives present in many foods Americans eat — from M&Ms and Froot Loops to even mashed potatoes.
But while the push to make our food supply healthier holds enormous promise, actions to dissuade parents from ensuring their kids get highly effective vaccines with decades-long safety records threaten to erase those gains — and more.
