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President-elect Donald Trump has nominated vaccine skeptic and lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead HHS, a controversial decision that has angered some public health experts. It is expected that
President Trump announced the appointment on the social media platform TruthSocial.
“For too long, the American people have been crushed by the food complexes and drug companies that have perpetrated deceit, misinformation, and disinformation about public health,” President Trump wrote Thursday.
His role as Secretary of Health would oversee a nearly $2 billion budget and agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and CMS, which are responsible for administering federal health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
President Kennedy had previously promised to overhaul the federal public health industry. “FDA's war on public health is nearing an end,” Kennedy wrote in a post about X in October.
Most recently, President Kennedy said he wanted to eliminate fluoride from the nation's water supplies, a decision that would upend one of the nation's largest public health efforts. President Kennedy has taken to social media to criticize the spread of “chronic diseases” such as autism, obesity and diabetes.
Kennedy was originally a presidential candidate, but after withdrawing from the race in August, he endorsed Trump. During the campaign, Mr. Trump promised Mr. Kennedy that he would “run amok” in health care.
If confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy will replace Secretary of State Xavier Becerra in the Biden administration.
