President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will nominate former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This is a fulfillment of an implicit promise Trump made at a rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden in late October to give Kennedy a “health scare.”
Mr. Kennedy, a former Democrat and the scion of a wealthy political family, first made a name for himself as an environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist. Around 2015, he joined the board of the non-profit organization Children’s Health Defense (CHD), which believes conditions such as autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are caused by environmental factors such as toxins in vaccines. claims to be caused. President Kennedy has repeatedly spread misinformation about vaccines, and in 2021 was named one of the “disinformation dozen” who spread misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Appointed to the Center for Countermeasures against Digital Hate.
He said that, contrary to all reliable scientific research, COVID-19 may have been “ethnically targeted” to save Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people, and that HIV does not cause AIDS. He suggested no, and suggested that vaccine mandates are worse than the Holocaust. He also said in a 2012 deposition that he died after the worms ate part of his brain.
Kennedy’s account was banned from Instagram in 2021 for spreading vaccine misinformation. His account was restored in 2023, the year he announced his candidacy.
In August, Kennedy suspended his campaign, saying at the time, “If President Trump is elected and we honor his words, the enormous burden of chronic disease that is burdening and bankrupting our country will disappear.” expressed support. He called for a slogan comparable to President Trump’s MAGA, “Make America Healthy Again (MAHA),” and to “prioritize regenerative agriculture, protect natural habitats, and eliminate toxins from our food, water, and air.” focused.
HHS oversees 13 federal agencies (President Kennedy has indicated he intends to dismantle the government), including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). There is.
But Kennedy’s position remains subject to Congressional approval. Previous HHS leaders had long careers in public health or the department itself before serving as director. The Republican-controlled Senate may follow Trump’s lead, and has cited Kennedy’s active promotion of conspiracy theories, his long career as a staunch Democrat, and his confused stance on abortion as reasons to block him from taking office. may be mentioned.
Although President Kennedy has promised to overhaul the entire system, experts who spoke to WIRED say he will likely face long-standing regulations that will be difficult to break. Health policy is also heavily informed by an advisory panel of medical and public health experts, and the transition will take time to completely change the government’s recommendations.
Still, as HHS secretary, Mr. Kennedy would have substantial authority to fire staff and declare public health emergencies.
