HHS Secretary Links 'Overmedication' of Children to School Shootings as He Unveils MAHA Recommendations
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says NIH will study a possible correlation between psychiatric drugs and youth gun violence as his department advances 128 proposals to address a so-called childhood chronic disease crisis
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday tied what he described as an "overdependence on psychiatric drugs" among minors to a surge in school shootings as he unveiled 128 recommendations from the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission aimed at addressing a "childhood chronic disease crisis." Kennedy said the National Institutes of Health will initiate studies to assess any potential link between children’s medication use and incidents of mass violence.
The 18-page MAHA report urges HHS and other agencies to evaluate overprescribing trends, investigate vaccine injuries through a new research program, study the root causes of autism, and reconsider elements of the childhood vaccine schedule. It also calls for a range of less controversial policy moves, including promoting whole-fat dairy in school lunches, creating "MAHA Boxes" to expand healthy food options for people on government assistance, overhauling the sunscreen market, and returning the Presidential Fitness Test to schools.
Kennedy made the remarks as part of a broader presentation in which he argued that a raft of social and cultural changes beginning in the 1990s may explain the modern phenomenon of mass shootings. "One is the dependence on psychiatric drugs, which in our country is unlike any other country," he said. He also suggested possible connections with video games and social media, and emphasized that the NIH is "looking at" the relationship between medication and violence.
The secretary’s comments came in the wake of a mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis on Aug. 27, 2025, that left three people dead and more than 20 wounded. Kennedy reiterated that the onset of what he described as repeated stranger-targeted shootings began in the 1990s despite a historically similar number of firearms in American households, saying the United States is experiencing mass shootings with alarming frequency.
Health experts, mental health professionals and lawmakers responded with concern and criticism. Javeed Sukhera, a psychiatrist, posted on X that blaming selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and other psychiatric medications for gun violence is "dangerous and misguided" and distracts from debates over gun reform. Democratic Reps. Andrea Salinas and Becca Balint and Sen. Tina Smith co-led a letter calling on Kennedy to rescind remarks they said further stigmatize mental health treatment.
Medical and scientific organizations have repeatedly warned that causal links between psychiatric medication and violent behavior are not supported by the bulk of peer-reviewed evidence. Public health researchers and clinicians have also emphasized that untreated mental illness can increase risk of harm, and that medications play an important role in evidence-based treatment for many children and adolescents.
HHS officials described parts of the MAHA agenda as focused on safety and transparency. An HHS spokesperson told the Daily Mail the secretary "is not anti-vaccine — he is pro-safety, pro-transparency, and pro-accountability." The report itself states there is a "concerning trend of overprescribing medications to children" and calls for federal agencies to study overprescription and its long-term health implications.
Beyond medication and vaccine issues, the commission recommended that the NIH study how screen time affects youth mental health and directed the Surgeon General to seek limits on screen time at school. The report also advances initiatives to broaden access to whole foods for low-income families and to promote physical fitness among schoolchildren.
Critics of the report say some recommendations risk validating discredited claims from the anti-vaccine movement and could undermine public confidence in established immunization practices. The anti-vaccine community has long alleged that expanded vaccination schedules contribute to rising autism rates, a claim repeatedly refuted by extensive scientific research. The MAHA report’s pledge to "investigate vaccine injuries" and to "study the root causes of autism" drew particular scrutiny because of the history of misinformation around vaccines.
During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy raised concerns about the rise in prescribing of antidepressants and medications for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder to children, calling for greater scrutiny of those drugs. On Tuesday he repeated his call for more rigorous review and study of pediatric medication practices.
The MAHA recommendations will now move into interagency review and potential implementation phases. Kennedy said the measures reflect long-held priorities and that agencies will begin studies and pilot programs to address the sweeping list of proposals. Observers in public health, psychiatry and pediatric medicine said they will monitor how studies are designed and funded, and cautioned that careful, evidence-based research will be essential to avoid misleading conclusions about complex causes of violence and childhood health trends.
As HHS advances its agenda, policymakers and clinicians will weigh calls for new research and transparency alongside concerns that certain framings could stigmatize treatment for mental health disorders and divert attention from firearm policy and other proven violence-prevention strategies.