President Trump Establishes MAHA Commission as Kennedy Is Sworn in to Lead HHS

By Louis Conte, Health Freedom Editor, The Kennedy Beacon

President Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the Make American Health Again Commission and appointing newly-elected Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., its chair.

Following the signing, in a brief ceremony hosted by Trump from the Oval Office, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch did the swearing in honors, with Kennedy, his wife Cheryl Hines, and other family members on hand.

After thanking his family, Kennedy reflected on his first time in the Oval Office, in 1962, when he had a meeting with his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, about the environment and the importance of restoring physical fitness to Americans. Kennedy also reflected on the past 20 years — during which, he said, he prayed, every morning, that God would put him in a position to end America’s childhood chronic disease epidemic.

Turning to President Trump, Kennedy continued, “On August 23 of last year, God sent me President Trump . . . He’s kept every promise that he’s made to me, he’s kept his word in every account and gone way beyond it. I’m so grateful to you, Mr. President.” Kennedy went on to call Trump “a pivotal historical figure” who will transform America.

Kennedy’s former presidential running mate, Nicole Shanahan, will serve as an advisor to Kennedy in his new role leading HHS.

According to the White House’s fact sheet, the MAHA Commission will address “the root causes of America’s escalating health crisis, with an initial focus on childhood chronic diseases.” It is tasked with issuing its first report within 100 days producing an “assessment that summarizes what is known and what questions remain regarding the childhood chronic disease crisis…”

Moreover, a strategy document, on ways to improve the health of America’s children, will be produced within 180 days To reverse chronic disease, the MAHA Commission has four main policy directives:

1. Empower Americans through transparency and open-source data and avoid conflicts of interest in all federally funded health research.

2. Prioritize gold-standard research on why Americans are getting sick in all health-related research funded by the federal government.

3. Work with farmers to ensure that U.S. food is healthy, abundant and affordable.

4. Ensure expanded treatment options and health coverage flexibility for beneficial lifestyle changes and disease prevention.

The commission hopes to restore trust in medical and scientific institutions and hold public hearings, meetings, roundtables, and other events to garner expert input from leaders in public health.

In its fact sheet, the White House cited statistics delineating the seriousness of the health crisis:

• In the United States, six in 10 adults have at least one chronic condition, and four in 10 have two or more.

• Prior to COVID, American life expectancy averaged 78.8 years, while comparable countries averaged 82.6 years, creating a gap that equates to 1.25 billion fewer life years for Americans.

• The United States has the highest age-standardized cancer incidence rate across 204 countries, nearly double the next-highest rate. From 1990 to 2021, the United States saw an 88% increase in cancer.

• Asthma is far more common in the United States than in other parts of the world, including most of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

The White House also noted that the U.S. spends almost twice per capita what other wealthy countries spend on healthcare and and that the rise in chronic conditions is not limited to adults.

The fact sheet also included:

• Childhood is usually the healthiest period of life, yet as of 2022, 30 million (40.7%) United States children had at least one health condition like allergies, asthma, or autoimmune diseases.

• Autism now affects one in 36 children, a staggering increase from rates of one to four out of 10,000 children identified with the condition during the 1980s.

• 18% of teens suffer from fatty liver disease, nearly 30% are prediabetic, and more than 40% are overweight or obese – these conditions were virtually unheard of in prior generations.

• The incidence of childhood cancer, while still rare, has increased 0.8% per year since 1975—an over 40% increase over 45 years.

• Over medication, particularly among children, is a growing concern. More than 3.4 million children are currently taking medication for ADD/ADHD and diagnoses continue to rise.

Finally, the White House cited statistics that have far reaching national impacts:

• 77% of young adults do not qualify for military service without a waiver, primary due to being overweight, drug use, or mental and physical health issues.

• 90% of America’s $4.5 trillion healthcare expenditure is directed at managing chronic and mental health conditions.

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