Washington — President-elect Donald Trump stated Thursday in a social media publish that he’ll nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to steer the Division of Well being and Human Providers.
“I’m thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The USA Secretary of Well being and Human Providers (HHS),” he stated in a publish on X. He stated People have been “crushed by the commercial meals advanced and drug corporations who’ve engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation” about public well being, and Kennedy would “Make America Nice and Wholesome Once more!”
Kennedy has an extended file of criticizing vaccines, together with spreading deceptive claims about their security.
He has vowed to fight an “epidemic” of continual ailments and believes that enormous drug and meals corporations are guilty for a broad swath of illnesses. Kennedy has claimed a variety of well being points have worsened because of federal inaction, together with autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity dysfunction, sleep issues, infertility charges, diabetes and weight problems. He has additionally urged eradicating fluoride from ingesting water.
Kennedy would have to be confirmed by the Senate. His odds of clearing a Senate led by Democrats would have been low, given his lengthy file of what the celebration known as “anti-science, fringe public well being stances,” however with Republicans within the majority come January, Trump’s nominees may have a neater path to affirmation.
Regardless of the anticipated opposition to Kennedy’s nomination — together with different controversial decisions to steer nationwide safety companies and former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz to steer the Justice Division — Trump has instructed associates in latest days he’s standing by his choose for well being chief.
“Nobody can speak him out of it,” one of many sources acquainted with the choose stated Thursday.
Trump promised through the marketing campaign to let Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic and former environmental lawyer, “go wild” on points regarding well being, meals and drugs.
“I’ll let him go wild on well being. I’ll let him go wild on the meals. I’ll let him go wild on medicines,” Trump stated within the closing days earlier than the election. “The one factor I do not assume I’ll let him even get close to is the liquid gold that we’ve below our toes … typically known as oil and gasoline.”
The sprawling HHS Division encompasses a variety of companies, together with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, Nationwide Institutes of Well being, Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Providers and the Meals and Drug Administration. As HHS Secretary, Kennedy would additionally oversee the Workplace of Refugee Resettlement, which is charged with caring for undocumented and unaccompanied youngsters apprehended alongside the border.
The Heart for Science within the Public Curiosity, a watchdog group that always clashes with the FDA and in some methods is carefully aligned with Kennedy’s calls to get chemical compounds out of meals, put out a press release condemning his nomination.
“Nominating an anti-vaxxer like Kennedy to HHS is like placing a Flat Earther on the head of NASA,” the group’s president, Dr. Peter G. Lurie, stated in a assertion. “CSPI opposes this nomination and every other nominees who’re a direct menace to science and evidence-based options.”
However one distinguished Democrat, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, stated in a social media publish that he was “excited by the information” of Kennedy’s nomination. He praised Kennedy for serving to to defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado in 2019 however stated he hoped that Kennedy would embrace private selection on vaccines, relatively than banning them. He additionally stated he was optimistic about Kennedy’s vow to tackle large pharma and excessive drug prices for People. Polis additionally backed Kennedy’s criticism of “whole departments, just like the vitamin division on the FDA” that “are usually not doing their job, they don’t seem to be defending our youngsters,” particularly from pesticides utilized in agriculture.
On the similar time, Polis has additionally launched a coverage entity with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker geared toward taking up different components of the Trump agenda.
As a co-chair of Trump’s transition, Kennedy has been vetting a slate of staffers who may fill high positions all through the Trump administration. He has stated he hopes “to have each dietary scientist” throughout the Division of Well being and Human Providers and the Division of Agriculture “fired on Day One.”
Kennedy, who confronted a pricey and time-consuming course of to seem on basic election ballots as an unbiased candidate, ended his longshot bid for the White Home in August and endorsed Trump.
Kennedy stated there have been three points that satisfied him to endorse Trump: free speech, the battle in Ukraine and what he known as the “battle on our youngsters.” He stated processed meals, chemical compounds and weight problems had been destroying the well being of kids within the U.S.
At an August rally with Kennedy, Trump vowed to ascertain a panel to research continual well being issues and childhood ailments, in addition to set up an unbiased presidential fee on assassination makes an attempt that will be tasked with releasing all the remaining paperwork associated to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Kennedy is the nephew of the late president and the son of the late senator, legal professional basic and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy.
Caitlin Huey-Burns and
Ed O’Keefe
contributed to this report.
