Trump will nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist, as health secretary

On By Littum

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting him in charge of a massive agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid.

“For far too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and pharmaceutical companies that have engaged in deception, misinformation and disinformation when it comes to public health,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social website announcing the appointment. Kennedy, he said, would “make America great and healthy again!”

Kennedy, a former Democrat who ran as an independent in this year’s presidential campaign, dropped his bid after striking a deal to give Trump his endorsement with a promise to play a role in the administration’s health policy.

He and Trump have since become good friends, with Kennedy often receiving loud applause at Trump’s rallies.

The expected appointment was first reported by Politico on Thursday.

A longtime vaccine skeptic, Kennedy is a lawyer who has built a loyal following over several decades of people who admire his lawsuits against big pesticide and pharmaceutical companies. He has pushed for tighter rules around the ingredients in food.

With the Trump campaign, he worked to shore up support among young mothers in particular with his message to make food healthier in the US, promising to model regulations imposed in Europe. In a nod to Trump’s original campaign slogan, he called the effort “Make America Healthy Again.”

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It’s still unclear how that fits with Trump’s history of deregulation of major industries, including food. Trump pushed for fewer inspections of e.g. the meat industry.

Kennedy’s stance on vaccines has also made him a controversial figure among Democrats and some Republicans, raising questions about his ability to be confirmed even in a GOP-controlled Senate. Kennedy has championed misinformation about the safety of vaccines, including pushing a totally discredited theory that childhood vaccines cause autism.

He has also said he would recommend removing fluoride from drinking water. The addition of the material has been cited to lead to improved dental health.

HHS has more than 80,000 employees across the country. It houses the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and the National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine nonprofit group, Children’s Health Defense, currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking steps to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took a leave of absence from the group when he announced his presidential candidacy, but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

__ Seitz reported from Washington.