Americans are losing confidence in the nation’s public health agencies, according to a survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

The survey of 1,650 adults, conducted last month, found that on matters of health, a majority of Americans say they have far more confidence in their own doctors, pediatricians and career scientists at federal agencies than the political appointees charged with overseeing those scientists.

It comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has defended some of his more controversial decisions by arguing that they are necessary to restore trust in public health.