We’ll Know Causes of Surge in Autism by September, RFK Jr. Vows

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a bold claim at a Cabinet meeting Thursday with President Donald Trump, promising that his department will uncover environmental causes of autism by September.

“We’ve launched a massive testing and research effort that’s going to involve hundreds of scientists from around the world,” Kennedy told Trump in front of reporters.

“By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic, and we’ll be able to eliminate those exposures.”

Trump, who as early as his 2016 presidential campaign called autism an “epidemic” and asserted that its prevalence is linked to vaccines, hailed Kennedy’s work.

“Think of that: So, it was 1 in 10,000 children had autism, and now it’s 1 in 31. Not 31,000—31. That’s a horrible statistic, isn’t it? And there’s got to be something artificial out there that’s doing this,” said Trump.

He then turned to Kennedy and asked, “So, you think you’re going to have a pretty good idea, huh?”

Kennedy replied confidently, “We will know by September.”

“There will be no bigger news conference than that … If you can come up with that answer,” Trump said. “Where you stop taking something, you stop eating something, or maybe it’s a shot. But something’s causing it.”

Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda is now in full swing.

Kennedy additionally spoke at the meeting of his efforts alongside governors in 24 states to bar “soda pop” purchases from the food stamp program. 

This week, Kennedy also made headlines when he said he would urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending putting fluoride in drinking water.