RFK Jr. ousts 2 preventive services task force leads 

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has removed the two vice-chairs of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an expert panel that provides clinical preventive health recommendations to Congress, an HHS official confirmed to Becker’s May 21.

John Wong, MD, and Esa Davis, MD, led the task force. The group assigns grades to preventive services, which private health insurance covers without cost-sharing under the ACA.

According to documents obtained by Becker’s, the leaders were subject to a review under revised governance procedures, and the terminations did not stem from performance issues. The change comes just ahead of a May 23 nomination deadline for new members, and both are still able to apply.

The task force has been effectively sidelined for the past year, with its most recent meeting in March 2025. Since then, meetings have been postponed, with one cancellation occurring during the government shutdown. Last month, Mr. Kennedy said the volunteer group had been “lackadaisical and negligent” for two decades, adding it will meet more often than the planned three times per year.

“We strongly urge HHS to restore the USPSTF’s long-standing, transparent process for selecting members, specifically clinicians with expertise in the fields of preventive medicine and primary care,” a May 20 American Medical Association statement said. “We also implore HHS to commit to once again holding regular task force meetings to ensure its important work can continue without further delay. Our patients’ lives depend on it.”

Last year, HHS tried to overhaul the CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices. Subsequent changes to the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule were met with a legal challenge. In April, the Trump administration filed notice that it would appeal the federal court ruling.

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