Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting on 26 August that his department has identified “certain interventions” that are “almost certainly causing autism” and intends to release full findings in September. The update fulfils a pledge Kennedy made in April when he launched a joint research effort under the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. Kennedy said HHS is working with scientists “from around the world” and is on track to present both the suspected causes and possible remedies next month. Trump welcomed the news, remarking that “there has to be something artificially causing this,” and added that the administration “maybe knows the reason.” According to figures cited by Kennedy’s supporters, autism prevalence in the United States rose from 0.7 in 10,000 children in 1970 to one in 36 children in 2020, including one in 12.5 boys. Kennedy contends that specific environmental or medical interventions have driven the increase and can be mitigated once identified. Researchers and advocacy groups reacted cautiously, noting that decades of peer-reviewed studies attribute most of the apparent surge to broader diagnostic criteria, increased awareness and genetic factors rather than a single external trigger. Scientists also warned against reviving the discredited claim that vaccines cause autism and said they await the administration’s data before assessing the HHS findings.