by Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. at the Defender
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today announced the creation of a new Administration for a Healthy America as part of a massive overhaul of HHS. Meanwhile, HHS will reportedly gain oversight of school meals and special education, President Donald Trump said last week.
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today announced the creation of a new Administration for a Healthy America as part of a massive overhaul of the U.S. Department of Human Services (HHS), which includes reducing the number of divisions under HHS from 28 to 15 and the number of staff from about 82,000 to 62,000.
Kennedy said the department’s new priority will be to end “America’s epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins” — priorities that “will be reflected in the reorganization of HHS.”
The Administration for a Healthy America will combine several agencies, including the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
In a statement, Kennedy said:
“We aren’t just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic. This Department will do more — a lot more — at a lower cost to the taxpayer. …
“Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants. This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves. That’s the entire American public, because our goal is to Make America Healthy Again.”
We are streamlining HHS to make our agency more efficient and more effective. We will eliminate an entire alphabet soup of departments, while preserving their core functions by merging them into a new organization called the Administration for a Healthy America or AHA. This… pic.twitter.com/BlQWUpK3u7
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) March 27, 2025
Pediatrician Dr. Michelle Perro said the changes will prioritize “a more streamlined and effective approach to addressing the tsunami of chronic diseases now affecting most Americans.”
“By consolidating the key agencies into the Administration for a Healthy America, we can restructure and better coordinate efforts in primary care, maternal and child health, mental health, and environmental health, which are areas that are pivotal to support the health of children and families,” Perro said.
Sayer Ji, co-founder of Stand for Health Freedom, said HHS had long been…
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