Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Nov. 9 that multiple recent changes are paving the way for major reforms he has been unable to enact in his nearly two years as the nation’s top health official.
Kennedy told supporters at an event in Washington that key actions, such as updating the food pyramid and removing mercury from dental fillings on Indian reservations, were enacted with White House support, including backing from Susie Wiles, who was White House chief of staff until several days ago.
However, he said, other goals have not yet been implemented.
“There were things that we didn’t get done, and that was very frustrating to me,” he said. “And they are very, very important things.”
Stephen Miller, the longtime aide to President Donald Trump and the new chief of staff, met with Kennedy before the midterm elections and told Kennedy that after the midterms, he would put Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiatives at the top of his priority list, according to Kennedy.
The health secretary also said that he went to Miller’s house for dinner on Nov. 1, and Miller’s wife told guests that they had no idea how passionate Miller is on MAHA.
Miller said during a 2025 MAHA event that his wife was a MAHA mom and he had been shocked to learn of all the toxins children are exposed to, including toxins in food and the environment.
“What Secretary Kennedy has done at the direction and leadership of President Trump is for the first time in American history, the full power and authority of the federal government is being used to identify and solve the chronic disease epidemic, and not to cover it up,” Miller said at the time.
Kennedy’s new comments came after a former adviser, Calley Means, accused Wiles and other White House officials of stymying attempts by MAHA-aligned officials to implement reforms such as compelling companies to make food healthier and working with them to do so. The White House said that the Trump administration does not allow outside groups to influence policy decisions.
They also followed Democrats flipping the Senate and multiple senators or senator-elects calling for the removal of Kennedy from office over allegations that he has mishandled health-related efforts and promoted misinformation on vaccines.
“Secretary Kennedy has delivered the most sweeping public health reforms in modern history,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told news outlets in a statement. ”He will continue to put prevention at the center of health care to end the chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again. Threats of impeachment will not distract him from delivering for the American people.”
Kennedy said on Monday that he has faced obstacles from several areas, including Republican senators.
“Every time I try to do something robust, I would get calls saying, ‘If you do that, we’re not going to confirm your appointees,’” he recounted.
Kennedy has faced public opposition from multiple senators, including Senate Health Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who lost in a primary to Sen.-elect Julia Letlow (R-La.).
“The Senate no longer has any leverage over me, and that’s a big deal,” Kennedy said. “And then we have Steve Miller in, who’s a friend of our movement, and I don’t think anything is going to get in our way now.”
Kennedy declined to list specific developments that are being targeted.
“There’s a lot of press here, and I don’t want to unveil our strategies,” he said.
Kennedy referenced a post on X in which he said it was time to “unleash the Kraken” following Trump announcing Miller as the new chief of staff.
“That’s what we’re about to do,” he said on Monday.
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