RFK Jr. says ‘entire departments’ at FDA ‘need to go’

On November 7, 2024By Littum

Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is slated to play a potentially major role in a new Trump administration, said Wednesday that there are “entire departments” within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that “must away.”

“In some categories … there are entire departments, like the nutrition division at the FDA … that need to go away that are not doing their job, they are not protecting our children,” Kennedy said during an interview on MSNBC.

Kennedy endorsed President-elect Trump in August after first running as a Democratic presidential candidate and then as an independent.

Trump’s victory in the presidential race sets Kennedy up as a winner himself, who is likely to play some sort of role in health care for the Trump administration.

Kennedy said last week that Trump assured him he would get a role in the White House if he won the presidency.

“We don’t know what to do. I talked to the president about it yesterday and he asked me what I wanted and I said we’re developing a proposal now,” Kennedy said during a separate interview with Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum, who asked if Kennedy will get the job as health and human resources secretary.

That job would require Senate confirmation. Republicans appear to have a majority in the Senate of at least 52 seats, but it is unclear how easy it would be to confirm Kennedy. There has been plenty of speculation that Kennedy would serve in a role that does not require Senate confirmation.

Howard Lutnick, co-chairman of Trump’s transition team, Kennedy said recently gets “no job” as HHS leader.

When asked if he would eliminate any health agencies, Kennedy told MSNBC, “to eliminate the agencies as long as it requires congressional approval, I wouldn’t do it.”

“I can get the corruption out of the agencies,” he added.

Go to The Hill for the latest news, weather, sports and streaming video.