Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he will ban government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals and proposed creating an “in-house” publication by the department.
“We are probably going to stop publishing in the Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA and those other journals because they are all corrupt,” Kennedy said during an episode of “The Ultimate Human” podcast.
Kennedy said such publications are “vessels” for pharmaceutical companies.
The three publications Kennedy named have published original, peer-reviewed research since their respective foundings in the 1800s. They are all consistently ranked as the top medical journals in the world and are critical in sharing scientific information to millions of people across the globe.
JAMA alone receives more than 30 million visits to its website a year.
A spokesperson for the New England Journal of Medicine told The Hill it had an “impeccable record of scientific rigor and independence.”
“We use rigorous peer review and editorial processes to ensure the objectivity and reliability of the research we publish,” they added.
JAMA and the Lancet did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Hill.
Kennedy said agencies within the HHS will create their own “in-house” journals that will become the preeminent journals in their field.
“They are going to become the preeminent journals, because if you get NIH [National Institutes of Health] funding it is anointing you as a good, legitimate scientist,” he said.
Kennedy’s comments on the podcast come shortly after he announced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will stop recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for children and pregnant women. As of Wednesday, the agency had not updated their vaccine schedule to reflect Kennedy’s announcement.
His appearance on the podcast also comes a week after the Trump administration released its MAHA report which contradicted many medical conventions, including on vaccines and medications that have long been deemed safe.
In the report, the administration expressed concern over children taking too many medications.
“There is a concerning trend of overprescribing medications to children, often driven by conflicts of interest in medical research, regulation, and practice,” the report reads. “This has led to unnecessary treatments and long-term health risks.”
Kennedy’s comments and the report come as the scientific community grows increasingly worried the Trump administration will further roll back scientific progress.
On Friday, Trump ordered federal agencies to overhaul how they handle their scientific research, blaming them for contributing to a loss in trust of science due to their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
Thousands of federal workers have been fired or laid off since Trump’s inauguration in late January and his administration’s sweeping funding cuts have caused the NIH’s funding to fall by $3 billion since late January.
Updated: 3:44 p.m.
