Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just walked straight into a credibility problem. The Health and Human Services Secretary recently lauded Donald Trump as the first president "completely committed" to removing forever chemicals—toxic PFAS substances in the tap water of roughly 80 percent of congressional districts and in the blood of 97 percent of Americans.
But the Trump administration is quietly dismantling the very protections Kennedy was celebrating.
The EPA is rescinding restrictions on four PFAS substances entirely and giving water utilities a two-year grace period to comply with limits on two others. These were the first-ever federal drinking water regulations on forever chemicals, approved under Joe Biden in 2024.
Kennedy cited the administration's $1 billion in grant funding for communities to detect and eliminate PFAS. But those funds were appropriated by Congress in 2021, when Biden was president.
The move has left environmental observers critical. "It seems like they have largely adopted the positions of the chemical industry," according to observers tracking the rollback—a statement that the administration has sided with manufacturers over public health.
PFAS—"forever chemicals"—persist indefinitely in the environment and have been linked to various cancers, autoimmune diseases, and other serious health conditions. Some manufacturers have developed shorter-lived alternatives, though these new-generation chemicals number in the thousands and may pose their own health risks.
The rollback takes effect after a 60-day public comment period. Environmental advocates are preparing for a legal challenge, and the contradiction between Kennedy's statements and the administration's actions has drawn public scrutiny.
