RFK floats starting new medical journal for administration scientists
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused major medical journals of corruption, adding that he may stop scientists working with the federal government from publishing in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and The Lancet—three of the most influential names in academic research.
Kennedy’s comments came during an appearance on the Ultimate Human podcast, hosted by wellness guru Gary Brecka. During the roughly 40-minute interview, Kennedy discussed multiple topics related to health that align with his Make America Healthy Again agenda, including processed foods and environmental toxins.
He also lamented the corrupting influence of pharmaceutical companies—which he blamed, in part, for what he sees as bias in medical research publications. As a proposed solution, Kennedy floated the idea of new state-run medical journals.
“Unless those journals change dramatically, we are going to stop National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists from publishing in them and we’re going to create our own journals in-house,” he said.
NIH provides public funding to a huge amount of research, much of which is conducted by third-party private and academic institutions. It isn’t clear if Kennedy meant that all research funded by the NIH would be banned from being published in traditional medical journals.
During the podcast, Kennedy said the editors of The Lancet and NEJM no longer believe research published in their journals is reliable. According to coverage in Politico, this is a reference to past statements where The Lancet’s Editor-in-Chief, Richard Horton, and the former head of NEJM, Marcia Angell, both questioned the reliability of clinical research, given growing financial ties to drug companies.
When approached by Politico for comment on Kennedy’s statements, The Lancet and NEJM did not reply. A spokesperson for JAMA said the outlet had nothing to add.
HealthExec also reached out to the three journals but did not receive a reply.
Politico noted that, possibly related to Kennedy’s remarks, FDA Director Martin Makary, MD, recently launched his own journal, the Journal of the Academy of Public Health, alongside NIH Director Jayanta Bhattacharya, MD, PhD.
The new journal was founded in February of this year, shortly after President Donald Trump took office.
For more, read Politico’s coverage at the link below.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.