Donald Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known for promoting vaccine conspiracies, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
“For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” the president-elect said in a statement. “The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country.”
The sprawling agency that Kennedy would oversee includes the FDA, which approves and regulates vaccines.
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In a statement posted to X, Kennedy thanked Trump for his “leadership” and “courage.” He added: “I’m committed to advancing your vision to Make America Healthy Again. We have a generational opportunity to bring together the greatest minds in science, medicine, industry, and government to put an end to the chronic disease epidemic.
He said he was looking forward to “working with the more than 80,000 employees at HHS to free the agencies from the smothering cloud of corporate capture so they can pursue their mission to make Americans once again the healthiest people on Earth.”
The Kennedy family scion had been “stubborn” and increasingly difficult in his push for the position as a member of Trump’s transition team, sources told the New York Post.
Kennedy, whose views on public health have alarmed experts, spent much of the past two years running for president himself, first as a Democrat and then later as an independent.
During his run, he painted both parties and their respective nominees as bad choices for the country. In August, he dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump. Trump then repeatedly promised to leave Kennedy in charge in his quest to “make America healthy again.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the incoming chairman of the Senate health committee that oversees HHS, hinted Thursday that he’d like to have a confirmation hearing—in spite of Trump’s demands that Senate Republicans skip the confirmation process for all of his Cabinet and other key administration picks.
“RFK Jr. has championed issues like healthy foods and the need for greater transparency in our public health infrastructure,” said Cassidy. “I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they will support a conservative, pro-American agenda.”
Kennedy has been involved in several colorful controversies, often ones that involved promoting conspiracy theories.
Vaccine skepticism, in particular, has been a central part of his brand. Though he insists he’s not an “antivaxxer,” he has frequently questioned the safety of immunizations against diseases and supported the debunked theory that vaccines cause autism. Recently, however, he promised not to take vaccines away from people who want them.
Kennedy has also falsely suggested that COVID-19 was ethnically “targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people” and that antidepressants are linked to an uptick in school shootings. He has proposed eliminating fluoride, which helps prevent tooth decay, from public drinking water.
He has also racked up his fair share of personal scandals—including ones involving questionable health and hygiene practices. In the spring, the New York Times reported that he literally had a brain worm. After that was a Vanity Fair report suggesting that he once consumed barbecued dog (he said it was a goat.)
In the same story, a former family babysitter accused him of sexual assault. In response to the story, he said, “I am not a church boy,” but later texted the woman saying he did not remember the incident but apologized if he made her uncomfortable.
Then, news broke that he had once picked up a bear cub that had been hit by a car in front of him, planning to skin it and store the meat. He ended up not having time to bring it home and left the carcass in Central Park, staging it to look as if it had been hit by a bike.
That wasn’t the only scandal he found himself in involving a dead animal. In September, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed it was investigating Kennedy for sawing off the head of a dead whale decades ago and transporting it with his car.
Most recently, multiple outlets reported that Kennedy engaged in an affair with political reporter Olivia Nuzzi. A Kennedy spokesperson said the pair had only met once.
