Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed as Trump’s health secretary
Despite millions of dollars spent by groups opposed to his nomination, the Senate voted to install Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy faced opposition from the left for his decades of espousing conspiracy theories about vaccines and from the right for his past support of abortion rights. For several weeks, it was uncertain whether he had enough senators backing him to get through. On Wednesday Feb. 12, Democratic senators made speeches on the floor past midnight in protest. But on Thursday morning, Kennedy had the votes to be confirmed.
The vote was 52 to 48. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former Republican majority leader and a polio survivor, was the sole Republican joining Democrats to vote against Kennedy.
IHPC Assembly Meeting is Tuesday, Feb. 25
IHPC will hold its first Assembly Meeting of 2025 on Tuesday, February 25
IHPC is pleased to announce that Constantine “Kosti” Psimopoulos, who is a postdoctoral research fellow with The Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, as well as the Executive Director of the Initiative on Health, Religion, and Spirituality at Harvard Medical School will be addressing the Assembly on Tuesday.
Constantine, aka ‘Kosti’, Psimopoulos is a Kinesiologist by training and a bioethicist. He joined the faculty of Harvard’s Initiative on Health, Spirituality and Religion, of which he is also Senior Program Administrator, and the Human Flourishing program in 2024. He also holds an academic teaching position (Fellow) in the Department of Systems Biology at HMS, Scientific Citizenship Initiative, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Psimopoulos has another Academic research appointment in Global Health and Social Medicine and the Center for Bioethics at HMS, and finally a third appointment as a Course Developer (Course Development Fellow) in a new joint Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Initiative on Racism in Health and Scientific Research.
At Harvard Medical School, Kosti has also served by appointment as Director of Policy and Advocacy (2021-2022) and in 2022-2023 was elected President of Harvard Medical School’s MS Council, and asked to serve on the Harvard Graduate Council Advocacy Committee.
You won’t want to miss this insightful and informative presentation that will look at current policy issues impacting integrative health. It will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 25 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm central time.
Link to the assembly meeting here
IHPC sends congratulatory, introductory letter to RFK Jr.
Having stated his intention to put “the health of America back on track,” and to address chronic health conditions and poor diet, many people in the integrative health community are optimistic about the appointment of RFK Jr., to the post of Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
IHPC sees the appointment as offering opportunity to raise awareness about whole person health and the mission and vision of the organization. IHPC wrote a congratulatory letter to the new health secretary and commended his steadfast commitment to the health and well-being of the American people. The letter also explains how that commitment aligns with the mission of IHPC and its Partners for Health.
IHPC sees a great opportunity to collaborate with HHS to design and implement policies to build a healthier and more resilient nation.
President Trump signs executive order to make America healthy again
Immediately following the swearing in ceremony of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS Secretary, President Trump with Secretary Kennedy by his side, signed the “Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission” Executive Order to investigate and address the root causes of America’s escalating health crisis, with a focus on childhood chronic disease.
“Thank you, President Trump, for your leadership, your confidence in me, and your deep concern for the health of the American people,” Secretary Kennedy said. “You have truly heard the calls of the millions of mothers who simply want the tools – and the truth – so they can make informed decisions for their children.”
Read more of Kennedy’s remarks here
IHPC Happenings:
IHPC Policy Committee Internship Opportunity
IHPC is looking for an intern that would be assigned to review the 2020 and 2022 AHRQ Reports on Pain to identify the research studies that were rejected from consideration to understand any trends or issues that can be corrected by researchers in the future so that their research is considered. Interested candidates should reach out to Michael Duarte <info@ihpc.org>
Add Comment