Trump Budget Slashes Chronic Disease Prevention Funding

Despite Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s pledge to combat the country’s chronic disease “epidemic,” President Trump’s new budget proposal would cut the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s funding nearly in half—and eliminate its chronic disease division entirely, Apoorva Mandavilli and Varyn Rabin reported for The New York Times.

The proposal appears to contradict Kennedy’s public statements under his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda.

The drastic cuts shocked public health officials across the U.S., many of whom had aligned with Kennedy’s rhetoric about urgent health reform. “Most Americans have some sort of ailment that could be considered chronic,” said Dr. Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis, St. Louis's health director.

The proposal appears to contradict Kennedy’s public statements under his “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda.

Kennedy, a controversial figure due to his promotion of conspiracy theories and anti-science views, has advocated ending fluoridation in drinking water and promoting raw milk consumption—policies experts warn would endanger lives.

His family has publicly questioned his qualifications to serve as health secretary.