Reports published by Newsweek and the Daily Beast on 25 August quoted British cardiologist Aseem Malhotra, an associate of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as saying President Donald Trump and Kennedy are preparing to remove COVID-19 vaccines from the U.S. market "within months." Malhotra, who advises the pro-Kennedy group Make America Healthy Again Action, did not detail how such a ban would be implemented. The White House quickly rejected the claim. Spokesperson Kush Desai said the administration is "relying on gold-standard science" and that any policy not formally announced should be regarded as "baseless speculation." HHS has not confirmed any plan to withdraw the shots, which were once hailed by Trump as a "monumental achievement" under Operation Warp Speed. The speculation comes as the administration places vaccine skeptics in influential posts. A Health Department spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that MIT operations professor Retsef Levi—who has publicly urged withdrawal of mRNA vaccines—will chair the CDC’s COVID-19 immunization workgroup. Earlier this month Kennedy halted $500 million in federal grants for mRNA vaccine research, citing doubts about efficacy against respiratory infections. Vaccine makers Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax could face market disruption if access to the shots is restricted. Industry groups and some public-health experts warn that continued attacks on the inoculations, and proposals to alter the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, risk driving manufacturers out of the sector and eroding immunization coverage.