Weeks before Kennedy ousted Monarez, HHS announced that it was terminating 22 research projects focused on the development of mRNA—the revolutionary technology that enabled the creation of the COVID vaccines and saved millions of lives. Not only did Kennedy cancel $500 million worth of mRNA projects, but HHS also announced that “no new mRNA-based projects will be initiated.” Thanks to mRNA research, the COVID vaccines were developed and administered more quickly than any vaccine in history. Instead of building upon this research to prepare for future pandemics, Kennedy claims that HHS is “moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions.”

“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” Kennedy said. But it has been clear for decades that Kennedy has his own ideas about what constitutes science and expertise. He believes Wi-Fi causes cancer and that HIV doesn’t cause AIDS. He claimed that Covid was “targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people,” while the “people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.” His standards for evidence have always been warped by paranoid conspiracism. In his 2021 book The Real Anthony Fauci, Kennedy claimed that COVID ushered in an age of “medical totalitarianism” in the U.S. and accused Fauci of a “coup d’état against democracy” and a “pre-planned demolition of the American Constitution.” We can presume that the irony—given his current boss—is lost on Kennedy.