
RFK Jr Suggests Creating “In-House” Publications for Government Scientists
Key Takeaways
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. aims to prohibit government scientists from publishing in top journals, citing pharmaceutical influence and corruption concerns.
- Kennedy proposes new in-house journals for NIH-funded research, questioning the peer-review process of established journals.
The HHS secretary has suggested that he will bar all government scientists from publishing in the top medical journals in the country.
The ways of science and medicine in the US continue to be pushed and challenged by Robert F. Kennedy Jr, HHS secretary, as he focuses his efforts on the places where research is published. According to
The specific journals that Kennedy is interested in barring government scientists from publishing in include publications with a noted history in scientific innovation. Specifically, he has called out The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and The Lancet, claiming that “they’re all corrupt.”1 Kennedy claimed that these journals are all controlled by pharmaceutical companies, leading to his claims of corruption. In theory, this could make the journals biased toward publishing certain research in their books. However, the history of these journals has been outside of the pharmaceutical industry for much of their existence.
Kennedy has suggested that instead of the peer-reviewed journals, all government scientists employed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would publish in an in-house publication due to their status of being funded by the government. Being funded by the NIH, Kennedy said, would prove that the scientist is legitimate and good. It is unclear if this in-house publication would also be peer reviewed or if all research would be published with the sole approval of Kennedy and the HHS.
This decision comes after the Trump administration slashed government funding for research through laying off more than 20,000 federal workers at HHS and slashed funding for the NIH by more than $3 billion. Grants at the NIH have also been reduced since the inauguration, totaling
It is unclear what the timeline of the in-house publication might be, as the announcement of the plan did not specify dates for the potential roll out of the journal. Researchers are now decrying the move, with Adam Gaffney, MD, a public health researcher and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, saying that “banning NIH-funded researchers from publishing in leading medical journals and requiring them to publish only in journals that carry the RFK Jr seal of approval would delegitimize taxpayer-funded research.”1
References
1. Masih N, Wang AB. RFK Jr. says he may bar scientists from publishing in top medical journals. The Washington Post. Updated May 28, 2025. Accessed May 29, 2025.
2. About NEJM. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2024. Accessed May 29, 2025.
3. AMA history. AMA. Accessed May 29, 2025.
4. About The Lancet. The Lancet. Accessed May 29, 2025.
5. Santoro C. NIH grants terminated amid Trump administration, raising concerns for US research, minority health disparities. AJMC®. May 8, 2025. Accessed May 29, 2025.
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