Health Advocacy Groups Condemn Misinformation from Trump Administration Health Officials

Health advocacy organizations have raised serious concerns about what they describe as a dangerous pattern of misinformation being spread by top health officials in the Trump administration, according to a scathing new report released this week.

The joint report, published by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), claims that the Department of Health and Human Services under Trump has created a “crisis of public trust” through its policies and public messaging, particularly regarding autism.

“When you look at it, one thing after another, you can really realize how overwhelming it has been for those of us who are in the autism trenches trying to combat this misinformation and stigmatizing language,” said Zoe Gross, director of advocacy at ASAN, who helped author the report.

The document specifically targets Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose controversial statements about autism have drawn widespread criticism from the medical and scientific communities. Kennedy has repeatedly attempted to link autism to environmental factors such as vaccines and acetaminophen use during pregnancy, despite substantial scientific evidence contradicting these claims.

The advocacy groups documented a comprehensive timeline of what they describe as troubling actions taken by the Health Department during the first year of Trump’s second term. These include significant staffing reductions, cutting autism research funding by approximately $31 million, and removing FDA warnings about unproven and potentially dangerous autism treatments from government websites.

Perhaps most concerning to advocates is Kennedy’s decision to replace all members of the federal autism committee with advisers who have histories of promoting anti-vaccine views and pseudoscientific theories—a move that has alarmed public health experts.

“The changes have been harmful to its mission and detrimental to the autistic community,” the report states, pointing to examples of Kennedy’s public statements that have caused particular concern. During a cabinet meeting in April, Kennedy claimed they would “know the causes of autism” by September, and at a subsequent press conference, characterized autism as an “epidemic” that was “destroying families.”

Such rhetoric has been condemned by autism acceptance advocates, who emphasize that autism is a neurological difference, not a disease to be eliminated.

The report calls for immediate congressional oversight, with Gross stating, “We’d really like to see Congress hold RFK Jr. and HHS broadly to account for everything they’ve done over this past year that has been so harmful to the autistic community and to public health generally.” She added that if hearings found Kennedy “derelict in his duty as secretary, then Congress should impeach him.”

Kennedy’s tenure as Health Secretary has been marked by controversy from the start, given his long history of promoting views at odds with scientific consensus. His appointment was seen as part of Trump’s broader strategy to install officials who would dramatically reshape federal agencies according to his administration’s priorities.

The calls for accountability come amid Washington rumors that Trump is considering removing Kennedy from his cabinet position—a development that would add him to a growing list of high-profile departures from the administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Public health experts have expressed concern that even if Kennedy were to leave his position, the policy changes and institutional damage already inflicted on health agencies could have lasting consequences for public health messaging and autism research funding.

The controversy highlights the ongoing tension between the Trump administration’s approach to public health and the scientific community’s emphasis on evidence-based policies, particularly around issues affecting vulnerable populations.