“This ruling is judicial overreach to the extreme. The law is absolutely clear that the Secretary has complete control over FACA board membership, and yet this partisan judge arbitrarily changed the rules without legal precedent.” — Dr. Ryan Cole
Boston-Based US District Judge Brian Murphy Issues Broad Ruling That Effectively Renders Cabinet Secretaries Without Authority to Run Their Agency
(Washington, DC) — A ruling from District Judge Brian Murphy blocked HHS Secretary Kennedy from appointing members of FACA boards, including the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The ruling in a lawsuit brought by the Big Pharma-backed American Academy of Pediatrics blocked Secretary Kennedy’s 13 appointees to ACIP just days before the March 18–19 committee meeting. The ruling also reinstated government protocols that recommend American children receive dozens of chemical-laden vaccines in the first months of their lives, rather than let parents and doctors decide.
“This ruling is judicial overreach to the extreme,” said Dr. Ryan Cole, Head of Medical & Scientific Affairs at the Independent Medical Alliance. “The law is absolutely clear that the Secretary has complete control over FACA board membership, and yet this partisan judge arbitrarily changed the rules without legal precedent.”
Federal Management Regulation (FMR), states specifically in 41 CFR § 102-3.130(a) – the regulation that implements the Federal Advisory Committee Act – “Unless otherwise provided by statute, Presidential directive, or other establishment authority, advisory committee members serve at the pleasure of the appointing or inviting authority.” As the head of the agency, the HHS Secretary is the recognized “appointing authority.”
A recent national survey conducted by John Zogby Strategies found that 91% of likely voters agree that every individual has the right to informed consent for prescription medications, vaccinations, and all medical interventions. The finding represents one of the strongest supermajorities recorded on any health policy question in recent polling history.
“Using the judicial bench to deny parents and families informed choices and transparent medical consent is the utmost abuse of power,” added Dr. Ryan Cole, Head of Medical & Scientific Affairs at the Independent Medical Alliance. “This ruling will be swiftly overturned, and the American Academy of Pediatrics will be shown the door by the medical community.”
About Dr. Ryan Cole
Dr. Cole is a Mayo Clinic–trained, board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist with subspecialty expertise in dermatopathology and molecular diagnostics. Over a career spanning more than two decades, he has reviewed hundreds of thousands of tissue and blood samples through Cole Diagnostics, the independent laboratory he founded in Boise, Idaho, in 2004. He is recognized for identifying emerging biological and immune-system patterns before they surface in broader population data. An IMA Senior Fellow since the program’s inception, Dr. Cole has testified before federal, state, and international legislative bodies on matters of vaccine safety, medical freedom, and pandemic policy. He was a leading voice in the effort to pass Idaho’s landmark Medical Freedom Act, which Governor Brad Little signed into law in April 2025.
About the Independent Medical Alliance (IMA)
Formerly the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, the IMA has grown into America’s leading organization of frontline doctors, healthcare providers, and researchers advocating for full reform of government healthcare agencies, including transparency on conflicts of interest, pricing and payments, drug and vaccine injuries, and other essential reforms to restore trust in healthcare agencies.
About the Poll
The national survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted February 25–26, 2026 by John Zogby Strategies, commissioned by the Health Freedom Defense Fund and the Brownstone Institute. The margin of error is +/- 3.2 percentage points. The party breakdown is 37% Republican, 36% Democrat, 27% Independent. The full survey and analysis are available at brownstone.org.
