Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Monday that he’s gutting the panel that advises on vaccination safety and efficacy, arguing that it’s another step toward restoring public trust.

Kennedy, whose department has already made several moves to shake up vaccination research and recommendations, said he’s “retiring” all 17 members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, known as ACIP.

“Today, we are taking a bold step in restoring public trust by totally reconstituting the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP),” RFK said in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. “We are retiring the 17 current members of the committee, some of whom were last-minute appointees of the Biden administration.”

Kennedy said he had to remove these panel members or the Trump administration wouldn’t be able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028.

RFK Jr. suggested the panel effectively works as a rubber-stamp and is plagued with conflicts of interest.

ACIP, he highlighted, has never recommended against a vaccination it’s been asked to advise on, even vaccines that were later withdrawn for safety reasons. “It has failed to scrutinize vaccine products given to babies and pregnant women,” he wrote.

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“To make matters worse, the groups that inform ACIP meet behind closed doors, violating the legal and ethical principle of transparency crucial to maintaining public trust,” RFK said.

Kennedy cited a 2000 investigation that found enforcement of ACIP conflict-of-interest rules were “weak to nonexistent.”

“Committee members regularly participated in deliberations and advocated products in which they had a financial stake,” he wrote. “The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) issued conflict-of-interest waivers to every committee member.”

Citing a 2009 HHS inspector general report, Kennedy added that not all committee members completed full conflict-of-interest forms, and of the ones who did, it was found that 97% of the forms had omissions. Additionally, the CDC – which is the agency ACIP passes along its recommendations to – “took no significant action to remedy the omissions.”

“The public must know that unbiased science guides the recommendations from our health agencies,” Kennedy said. “This will ensure the American people receive the safest vaccines possible.”

As previously reported by The Daily Wire, HHS, under Kennedy’s leadership, is investing half a billion dollars into a project that seeks to develop universal vaccinations for numerous viruses, called “Generation Gold Standard.”

Moreover, the CDC is studying the sharp rise in autism rates, which reportedly includes research on whether there’s any link between vaccinations and the rise in autism.

And, last month, the CDC rescinded guidance that pregnant women and children should receive a vaccine against COVID. “I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that, as of today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule,” RFK said at the time.

Related: CDC Stops Pushing COVID Shots For Healthy Pregnant Women, Children: ‘Common Sense’

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said that after a weekend of violent riots — during which property was vandalized and police officers and federal agents were targeted by protesters in the streets of Los Angeles — a local VA clinic was forced to close its doors.

Collins issued the statement on Monday afternoon, one day after President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops to the California city in an effort to get the riots under control and protect the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who were attempting to enforce federal immigration laws.

The VA secretary shared a photo showing the side of the Los Angeles VA building spray-painted with threats and profanities aimed at federal officials, adding, “To the violent mobs in Los Angeles rioting in support of illegal immigrants and against the rule of law – Your actions are interfering with Veterans’ health care.”

To ensure the safety of Veterans and employees, @DeptVetAffairs had to make the difficult decision to temporarily close its LA Ambulatory Care Center. The clinic will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so, and in the meantime, in-person appointments at the facility are being…

— VA Secretary Doug Collins (@SecVetAffairs) June 9, 2025

“To ensure the safety of Veterans and employees, @DeptVetAffairs had to make the difficult decision to temporarily close its LA Ambulatory Care Center. The clinic will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so, and in the meantime, in-person appointments at the facility are being rescheduled or shifted to telehealth,” he added.

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In an effort to contain the riots, the Trump administration also deployed a number of U.S. Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton, some of whom were expected to relieve the National Guard troops who had already been in the city for nearly two days. Of the 2,000 National Guard troops who were initially deployed to Los Angeles, only approximately 300 have been actively engaged on the streets.