The Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday briefly posted a notice calling for physician nominations to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, but it was withdrawn shortly after.
HHS did not respond to a request for comment.
The call for nominations comes just days after Kennedy said during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing that he had plans to reform the panel because it had “been lackadaisical and negligent for 20 years.”
“We’re now bringing new members on who have a clear mission,” Kennedy said.
During a separate House hearing on Tuesday, Kennedy made similar comments, indicating a desire to revamp the panel.
Kennedy has repeatedly criticized the task force, which historically has been shielded from political influence. The panel is composed of medical experts who serve four-year terms on a volunteer basis.
Tuesday’s notice did not specify how many members of the 16-person panel are being sought. HHS said in the notice Tuesday that it anticipates new members will be invited to serve on the task force beginning in July 2026.
Public health experts and advocates have expressed concern over the past year over whether Kennedy would fire the entire task force and stack it with members ideologically aligned with himself, like he did with a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine panel.
A federal judge ruled in March that Kennedy’s appointments to the vaccine panel had been made inappropriately and were invalid.
But last June, the Supreme Court ruled that Kennedy has the power to hire and dismiss panelists at will, as well as to delay or veto the recommendations they issue if he disagrees with them — something no prior administration has done.
