Trump health officials reveal how they plan to combat chronic diseases
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials Dr. Mehmet Oz, Marty Makary, Jay Bhattacharya and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discuss the issues they believe may contribute to chronic diseases in the United States on ‘Special Report.’
Four top Trump administration officials from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shared their visions for improving the American healthcare system and aligning the agency with the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) platform in an exclusive interview Thursday on "Special Report."
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary and National Institutes of Health director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya sat down with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier at the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, D.C., for a wide-ranging discussion on the future of healthcare and improving the quality of care nationwide.
"We all share a vision that's been a lifelong vision for all of us, which is to make our country healthy, to have evidence-based science, to have gold standard replicable science, and then use that to challenge what we have — this kind of bedrock system that is destroying our health," said Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"The healthcare system in this country is a bundle of perverse incentives that force people to do the wrong thing. And we've turned this country into a sick care system rather than a health care system. And all these people are the people who are gonna change that."
Drs. Bhattacharya, Makary and Oz said their goals at their respective agencies are to: improve the health and longevity of the American people, focus on cures and meaningful treatments and improve the quality of care on all levels.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks with Dr. Mehmet Oz (R) before swearing him in as the Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator during a ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House on April 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. ((Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images))
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"We're laser-focused on the broader picture, the more holistic picture," said Dr. Oz, quoting Hubert Humphrey, a former Democratic vice president whose name is on the building they work in. "He [Humphrey] said, 'It's the moral obligation of government to take care of those of us at the very dawn of our lives, children, at the twilight of our [lives], the elderly, and those living in the shadows.' That's our focus."
Baier then turned to recent HHS leadership changes critical to advancing the MAHA agenda, asking RFK Jr. about the U.S. Surgeon General nomination change.
President Donald Trump pulled Dr. Janette Nesheiwat’s nomination for U.S. Surgeon General Wednesday ahead of her Senate confirmation hearing.
President Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as U.S. Surgeon General. (White House Photographers Office)
Nesheiwat, a former Fox News medical contributor, had her nomination withdrawn due to scrutiny over her credentials and criticism about her medical views not aligning with the White House.
Trump announced wellness influencer Casey Means would replace Nesheiwat, who will work at HHS in another capacity.
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"Casey Means, we felt, was the best person to really bring the vision of MAHA to the American public," RFK Jr. told "Special Report." "She has a unique capacity to articulate it. She's written a book that really mobilized, galvanized the movement. She is an extraordinary — she is excellence in everything that she's ever endeavored."
President Donald Trump has picked Dr. Casey Means to be his nominee for surgeon general.? (White House/Fox News)
The former 2024 Independent presidential candidate dismissed criticism of Means, who reportedly did not finish her medical residency nor possess an active medical license.
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"She was the top, the very top of her medical class at Stanford. She is in every — during her residency, she won every award that she could win," said RFK Jr. "She walked away from traditional medicine because she was not curing patients."
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