WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he plans to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services, another controversial candidate who could face a arduous confirmation process in the U.S. Senate due to his unscientific beliefs about public health, including his anti-vaccine stance.
“I am thrilled with the announcement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS),” Trump wrote on social media. “For too long, Americans have been crushed by the food industrial elaborate and pharmaceutical companies that engage in fraud, disinformation and misinformation when it comes to public health.
“The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play a large role in ensuring everyone is protected from the harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming health crisis in this country.”
HHS receives approximately $116.8 billion in federal funds each year and houses several high-profile public health agencies, including the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Food and Drug Administration and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Kennedy ran in this year’s presidential election as an independent candidate, often repeating false information about vaccines and spreading other public health conspiracy theories.
He has no experience in science, research or medicine. He graduated from Harvard University and then obtained a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.
He He admitted to possessing heroin in Rapid City, S.D., in February 1984, after which he was placed on two years’ probation, which ended a year earlier. As part of his probationary period, he volunteered for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Kennedy spent most of his career as an environmental lawyer and published several books.
After ending his presidential bid this year, Kennedy supported Trump and frequently campaigned for him.
Criticism of the nomination began quickly after Thursday’s news, although far-right Republicans are expected to celebrate the nomination.
Lisa Gilbert, co-chair of the nonprofit Public Citizen, released a written statement saying: “Kennedy is a science-denying and morally bankrupt conspiracy theorist who will endanger people’s lives if placed in health power. The U.S. Senate should unanimously reject this nomination.”
Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued a written statement that he wants to learn more about Kennedy during the confirmation process.
“RFK Jr. he advocated for issues like healthy food and the need for greater transparency in our public health infrastructure,” Cassidy wrote. “I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they will support a conservative, pro-American agenda.”
Washington state Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, a senior member of the HELP panel that will hold the confirmation hearing, said in a statement that Kennedy “could not be more dangerous – a cause for deep concern for every American.”
“There is no telling how much an extreme conspiracy theorist like RFK Jr. could set America back on public health, reproductive rights, research and innovation, and much more,” Murray wrote. “The implications here are not theoretical or superficial – health care access, coverage, research and public health are matters of life or death for people – and the Covid-19 pandemic was an all-too-recent and all-too-painful reminder.”
Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul congratulated Kennedy on social media, writing, “Congratulations to @RobertKennedyJr on his nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Finally someone who will detoxify this place after the Fauci era. Get ready for healthcare freedom and MAHA!”
Democratic Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a former member of Congress who previously criticized Kennedy’s anti-vaccination stance as a way to bring back polio and measles, cheered his nomination in a lengthy social media post.
“I hope it will focus on personal vaccine choice rather than bans (which I think are terrible, as are mandates), but I am most optimistic about fighting big pharma and corporate oligopoly to improve our health.”
Polis added another post about an hour later, he wrote that science “must remain the cornerstone of our nation’s health policy, and a science-based decision to vaccinate improves public health and safety.”
“But if we as a country followed the science, we would be much more concerned about the impact of pesticides on public health, agricultural policy on nutrition, and the lack of access to prescription drugs due to high drug prices,” Polis added. “That’s why I support major changes to institutions like the FDA that act as barriers to lowering drug costs and promoting fit food choices. Let there be no doubt, I am vaccinated and so is my family. I will hold every HHS Secretary to the same high standards of protecting and improving public health.
Last updated at 18:14, November 14, 2024
