In Washington’s halls of health policy, a behind-the-scenes power struggle has erupted. Lawyers inside the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) tried — and failed — to stop a controversial expansion of authority for Retsef Levi, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and outspoken critic of COVID-19 vaccines.
Levi, once an outside adviser, was vaulted in August to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) workgroup on COVID immunizations. His new position came with unusual powers: the ability to appoint other members, dictate agendas, and shape recommendations on who should receive COVID vaccines. Those responsibilities, by law, usually remain tightly within CDC control.
Internal emails from August 25, reviewed by senior officials, reveal that HHS lawyers warned Levi’s mandate could violate the Federal Advisory Committee Act — the statute that governs the functioning of government advisory boards. They argued that only the CDC itself should define agendas and scope, not the chair of a single workgroup. Their objections, however, were ultimately brushed aside, and the final rules empowering Levi were published on August 20 without legal sign-off.
Levi has not shied away from controversy. He has accused health authorities of suppressing scrutiny of vaccine safety, arguing that mRNA shots — once the backbone of pandemic response — cause serious harm and should be removed from the market. These claims contradict extensive peer-reviewed research showing the vaccines reduced hospitalizations and deaths while severe side effects remained exceedingly rare.
The Kennedy administration, installed at HHS earlier this year, has already rattled the public health establishment. The ouster of CDC Director Susan Monarez in August triggered a wave of resignations by senior officials, who described mounting pressure on scientific independence. Kennedy himself has long been a prominent critic of vaccination campaigns, and his decision to appoint Levi has been interpreted as part of a broader effort to rewrite federal vaccine policy.
The scope of Levi’s new group is expansive — including investigations into theories that mRNA vaccines may contain contaminated DNA or that the spike protein from the coronavirus lingers dangerously in the body after vaccination. Normally, such questions fall under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration, which oversees vaccine approval and safety evaluation.
Legal experts warn that disregarding HHS counsel exposes the CDC’s advisory process to potential court challenges. Richard Hughes, a Washington attorney specializing in health law, noted that ignoring statutory safeguards could undermine the credibility of the group’s recommendations. That risk looms large, as the panel prepares to meet this week to discuss the future of COVID shots in the U.S.
For now, Kennedy’s reshaping of America’s vaccine oversight continues — with Levi at the center, armed with powers his own government lawyers said should never have been his to wield
