President Donald Trump’s former surgeon general is ripping his current Health and Human Services secretary over recent cuts.
Dr. Jerome Adams joined Face the Nation, where he lashed out at HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for pulling nearly $500 million in vaccine research funding. He claimed that the move effectively undermines Trump’s “greatest achievement.”
Watch:
When asked about HHS Sec. RFK Jr. calling off around $500 million worth of vaccine development projects that use mRNA technology — which was used to help develop COVID-19 vaccines — former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, who served during the first Trump administration,… pic.twitter.com/D2r2Y1P30a
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) August 10, 2025
“I want to ask you about health policy because days earlier, Secretary Kennedy made an announcement that the U.S. is halting $500 million for vaccine research into that technology known as mRNA. You’re very familiar with it because it was used during Operation Warp Speed to very quickly get that COVID vaccine,” said host Margaret Brennan, setting up the segment. “Secretary Kennedy said, though, mRNA vaccines, quote, ‘Don’t work against upper respiratory infections.’ Do you know what he means? And what is stopping this research do for pandemic preparations?”
“Well, that’s simply not true. We know that by the most conservative estimates, over two million lives have been saved because of mRNA technology. It helped us develop COVID-19 vaccines in record time. And it’s, quite frankly, President Trump’s greatest achievement. It’s fascinating to me that in this conversation about whether he should receive the Nobel Prize for something, the thing that he should be considered for the Nobel Prize for, his health secretary is trying to undermine,” Adams responded.
This is not the first time that Adams has spoken out against the secretary’s moves against vaccines. In June, he responded to Kennedy’s removal of all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) by urging him to appoint “qualified scientists.”
“As a physician and former U.S. Surgeon General, I am deeply concerned by the unprecedented decision to remove all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). For decades, ACIP’s independent, evidence-based recommendations have saved countless lives by guiding vaccine policy with transparency and scientific rigor,” Adams wrote at the time. “This move risks undermining public trust in vaccines at a time when declining immunization rates and outbreaks of preventable diseases, like measles, warrant steady leadership. While concerns about conflicts of interest deserve attention, ACIP members are already subject to strict disclosure requirements, and their expertise is critical to informed decision-making.”
“I urge Secretary Kennedy to ensure that any new appointees are qualified scientists committed to public health and to prioritize collaboration with the scientific community to strengthen, not dismantle, this vital process. Our children and communities deserve policies grounded in science, not politics and populism,” he added.
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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