White House acknowledges problems in RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report

Advertisement

Advertise with us

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House will fix errors in a much-anticipated federal government report spearheaded by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which decried America's food supply, pesticides and prescription drugs.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/05/2025 (486 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House will fix errors in a much-anticipated federal government report spearheaded by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which decried America’s food supply, pesticides and prescription drugs.

Kennedy’s wide-ranging “Make America Healthy Again” report, released last week, cited hundreds of studies, but a closer look by the news organization NOTUS found that some of those studies did not actually exist.

Asked about the report’s problems, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the report will be updated.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks as Education Secretary Linda McMahon listens during a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks as Education Secretary Linda McMahon listens during a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

“I understand there was some formatting issues with the MAHA report that are being addressed and the report will be updated.” Leavitt told reporters during her briefing. “But it does not negate the substance of the report, which, as you know, is one of the most transformative health reports that has ever been released by the federal government.

Kennedy has repeatedly said he would bring “radical transparency” and “gold-standard” science to the public health agencies. But the secretary refused to release details about who authored the 72-page report, which calls for increased scrutiny of the childhood vaccine schedule and describes the nation’s children as overmedicated and undernourished.

Leavitt said that the White House has “complete confidence” in Kennedy.

“Minor citation and formatting errors have been corrected,” HHS Spokesman Andrew Nixon said in an emailed statement. He described the report as a “historic and transformative assessment by the federal government to understand the chronic disease epidemic afflicting our nation’s children.”

NOTUS reported Thursday that seven of the more than 500 studies cited in the report did not appear to have ever been published. An author of one study confirmed that while she conducted research on the topics of anxiety in children, she never authored the report listed. Some studies were also misinterpreted in the MAHA report. The problematic citations were on topics around children’s screen time, medication use and anxiety.

Kennedy’s MAHA report had already been stoking concerns among Trump loyalists, including farmers who criticized how the report characterized the chemicals sprayed on U.S. crops.

The report is supposed to be used to develop policy recommendations that will be released later this year. The White House has requested a $500 million boost in funding from Congress for Kennedy’s MAHA initiative.

—

Associated Press writer Will Weissert contributed.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Special teams woes hurt Bombers in loss to Argos

Ken Wiebe 7 minute read Preview

Special teams woes hurt Bombers in loss to Argos

Ken Wiebe 7 minute read Yesterday at 8:06 PM CDT

They’ve been the most consistent of the three phases in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers arsenal this season.

A port in the proverbial storm, throughout this topsy-turvy campaign of ups-and-downs, the special-teams units have been supplying strength to a group that is still searching for consistency with only four games left in the regular season.

That’s what made this momentary lapse so costly in a 30-28 loss to the Toronto Argonauts on Friday at Princess Auto Stadium.

“We didn’t keep up our end of the bargain. And that hurts our football team, hurts our chances of winning games,” said Blue Bombers special teams ace Tanner Cadwallader. “And if we want to win close games. we’ve got to be a whole lot better than that. And we will. We’re going to come in (on Saturday for the film session) and go through it with a fine-tooth comb and just work a little bit harder.”

Read
Yesterday at 8:06 PM CDT

Is a better Winnipeg on the horizon?

Tom Brodbeck, Rebecca Chambers, Niigaan Sinclair and Brent Bellamy 20 minute read Preview

Is a better Winnipeg on the horizon?

Tom Brodbeck, Rebecca Chambers, Niigaan Sinclair and Brent Bellamy 20 minute read Friday, Sep. 25, 2026

Four Free Press columnists weigh in on the challenges ahead and how the city can become better.

Read
Friday, Sep. 25, 2026

The never-ending, continuing war in Ethiopia

Gwynne Dyer 5 minute read Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

Another October coming up, and still the Nobel Peace Prize Committee refuses to give Donald Trump his prize. They even gave one to Barak Obama, who was Black and a Democrat and had only been in office for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, they ignore a man truly worthy of the prize, a man who ended eight wars last year alone. (He said so himself.)

Unfortunately the prize committee has a long record of backing the wrong person.

They gave it to Aung Sang Suu Kyi of Myanmar, who defended the Rohingya genocide: “I don’t think there is ethnic cleansing going on,” she said.

They gave it to former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger, who ordered the secret carpet-bombing of Cambodia: “The illegal we do immediately; the unconstitutional takes a little longer.”

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read Preview

Today’s horoscope

Georgia Nicols 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

MOON ALERT: Avoid shopping (except food and gas) and important decisions from 3 a.m. until 6 a.m. The full moon in Aries peaks at 11:49 p.m.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

This is a restless day for you because the full moon is in your sign. (This happens once a year and it can create tension between you and those close to you.) Patience is your best ally. Give yourself the freedom to change plans.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Read
Yesterday at 2:01 AM CDT

Four Jets clear waivers to join Moose

Ken Wiebe 3 minute read Preview

Four Jets clear waivers to join Moose

Ken Wiebe 3 minute read Yesterday at 2:28 PM CDT

The Winnipeg Jets organizational depth has yet to take a hit on the waiver wire.

On Saturday afternoon, all four players exposed to waivers — defenceman Isaak Phillips and forwards Nikita Chibrikov, Noah Gregor and Parker Ford — cleared, which means they can be assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

Owing to injuries to captain Adam Lowry and winger Cole Perfetti, both Chibrikov and Ford started last season on the NHL roster but spent the bulk of last season with the Moose.

Chibrikov, chosen in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft, has dealt with multiple lower-body injuries during the prior two seasons and is still working his way back to peak form.

Read
Yesterday at 2:28 PM CDT

Unhappy Dynacare staff refuse OT shifts; doors could be closed at clinics with Saturday hours

Carol Sanders 3 minute read Preview

Unhappy Dynacare staff refuse OT shifts; doors could be closed at clinics with Saturday hours

Carol Sanders 3 minute read Friday, Sep. 25, 2026

Some Winnipeg Dynacare sites normally open on Saturday were closed last week, and may continue to be because staff are refusing to pick up overtime shifts after they were forced back to work amid a labour dispute with the company.

Read
Friday, Sep. 25, 2026