Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. didn’t pull any punches during a recent private address to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff. In a speech obtained by NBC News, Kennedy sharply criticized the agency’s past decisions, going so far as to label the FDA a “sock puppet” for the industries it’s supposed to regulate. This strong condemnation came during Kennedy’s first joint appearance with the new FDA commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, an event intended to welcome both men and outline the agency’s future priorities.
Among those priorities are investigating the causes of autism and reforming the FDA’s “GRAS” pathway, which allows food companies to introduce ingredients without prior agency approval. Kennedy directly linked the FDA’s alleged closeness to the food industry to its perceived failures in addressing food contamination, asserting that the agency had become unduly influenced by the very industries it was tasked with overseeing. He emphasized that this wasn’t a unique concern, referencing past criticisms of the FDA’s industry ties, including those voiced by Senator Bernie Sanders.
Kennedy’s critique extends beyond the food industry, however. He has a history of alleging that federal health agencies are overly influenced by the industries they regulate, particularly vaccine manufacturers. His past statements, including a 2015 interview with the Children’s Health Defense (a group he founded), have accused the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of being a “subsidiary of the pharmaceutical industry.” This longstanding perspective underpins his current concerns about the FDA.
Adding fuel to the fire, Kennedy’s pre-election message on X (formerly Twitter) urged FDA employees involved in what he considered a corrupt system to “preserve your records” and “pack your bags.” His speech to FDA staff further reinforced these sentiments, referencing a “deep state” and institutional pressures that he claimed influence agency decisions. This statement reportedly caused at least one person to leave the room.
The speech’s timing is also notable, occurring less than two weeks after the administration announced layoffs affecting approximately 3,500 FDA employees and thousands more across other health agencies, including several top vaccine regulators. While Kennedy didn’t directly address these layoffs in his speech, he did encourage FDA staff to act as whistleblowers, urging them to report instances of managerial misconduct or the approval of questionable products. He concluded by stating his commitment to supporting and empowering whistleblowers within the administration.
The FDA has referred all media inquiries to the Department of Health and Human Services, but a spokesperson for the department has yet to respond to requests for comment. This incident adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing debate surrounding the FDA’s regulatory practices and its relationship with the industries it’s designed to oversee.
