| Representative Jake Auchincloss’ interest in science and health runs in the family. His father was a top official at the National Institutes of Health and served as acting director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases after Anthony Fauci left government. Auchincloss’ mother used to lead one of the nation’s premier cancer centers. That pedigree helped position him as one of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s fiercest Democratic critics in Congress. Though he’s one of the US House’s youngest members, Auchincloss snagged a spot on its committee overseeing health issues and the Food and Drug Administration this year. Auchincloss has used his perch to lodge aggressive criticism of Kennedy, trotting out foam display boards with elaborate charts showing Kennedy advisers’ ties to the business world and slamming Kennedy’s advisers as “bros” with views “based in conspiracy and quackery.” In a chamber where speeches often get monotonous and bogged down in jargon, Auchincloss’ animation and willingness to punch back stand out. In an interview with Bloomberg, Auchincloss said that some of Kennedy’s ideas, including his criticism of large food companies and push to make school lunches healthier, started as Democratic ones. But Kennedy’s messaging was more effective. “We called this social determinants of health,” Auchincloss said. “RFK worked out with his shirt off. And who had more followers at the end?” Democrats left themselves open to criticism when they extended school closures during the Covid pandemic against the advice of some experts, Auchincloss said. Now, scientific institutions are left to grapple with the implications of a government run by contrarians. Auchincloss has also raised alarms about Kennedy advisers’ financial interests in wellness companies and how this could lead to a regulatory system that makes decisions on whether a product is safe, not whether it actually works. He’s still awaiting responses to letters he sent in June probing the business ties of Trump administration health officials. He also said Kennedy’s stances on vaccines show he doesn’t take science seriously. And he’s criticized FDA Commissioner Marty Makary for announcing on Bloomberg TV a plan to speed up drug reviews if pharmaceutical companies meet a set of vague criteria for advancing “national priority” issues, including lowering drug prices. Auchincloss called the initiative a “horrible idea.” “It now makes fear or favor from the FDA commissioner the arbiter of what’s safe and effective,” he said. Auchincloss isn’t critical of all of Kennedy’s ideas. He conceded that concerns about the health impacts of large food and pharma companies’ financial sway resonate with everyday people. He acknowledged there’s a kernel of truth to the ideas that unhealthy food is driving chronic disease and that people should be exercising more. He said he’s “receptive” to changes to nutrition assistance to limit junk food purchases, but said it would be preferable to address the issue for all Americans instead of just the poor. At the same time, Auchincloss said that it’s important to defend the importance of scientific breakthroughs to treat rare illnesses and prevent infectious disease. He fears that Kennedy’s appointment could spook investment in biotech and jeopardize agencies’ ability to recruit. “They’re weakening the sinews of institutional science,” Auchincloss said. — Rachel Cohrs Zhang | 
