The move comes during a time of major upheaval across federal health agencies, and as the public waits to see how Kennedy will enact his pledge of “radical transparency” at the department.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday released a policy prohibiting public comments during his department’s rulemaking process, ending more than 50 years of the

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is closing the main avenue for members of the public to weigh in on pending health regulations and policy changes. | The HHS secretary said the public feedback mechanism is an obligation that imposes burden on the department.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is making moves that could affect immunization uptake and policy in the U.S., while Oracle submits a formal application to join TEFCA.

Kennedy tried to hold out an olive branch to the researchers during his introductory remarks and pledged transparency.

The Department of Health and Human Services is reversing a decades-old policy of soliciting public comment before it issues regulations affecting government benefits and grants, including NIH funding.

Kennedy Jr. ended a longstanding transparency rule on Friday, supercharging his authority to change policies in areas ranging from Medicaid to the National Institutes of Health without advance notice to the public.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is seeking to eliminate public participation in many of his department's policy decisions, a move that appears to contradict his pledge to Congress of "radical transparency.