President-elect Donald Trump is nominating anti-vaccine activist and former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, a sprawling bureaucracy with control over a wide range of health and drug-related policies.
Trump announced the nomination on Thursday afternoon, following through on his campaign promise to let Kennedy “go wild” on health and food policy, and potentially setting up another contentious confirmation battle in the soon-to-be GOP-controlled Senate. Politico first reported on Trump’s planned announcement.
“I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” Trump said.
“The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country.”
In October, Trump transition co-chair Howard Lutnick told CNN Kennedy would not be in charge of HHS, despite Trump’s statements to the contrary. Kennedy endorsed Trump and became one of his most prominent campaign surrogates after suspending his independent presidential bid in late August.
“We have a generational opportunity to bring together the greatest minds in science, medicine, industry, and government to put an end to the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy said on X.
“Together we will clean up corruption, stop the revolving door between industry and government, and return our health agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science. I will provide Americans with transparency and access to all the data so they can make informed choices for themselves and their families.”
The Department of Health and Human Services’s policy suite goes far beyond Kennedy’s issue priorities on food and vaccines. The agency is tasked with overseeing Medicare and Medicaid, while exercising a tremendous amount of control over abortion policy — potentially creating another clash between Trump and the pro-life movement. Kennedy voiced support for “full term abortions” earlier this year but quickly walked back on that position due to pressure from campaign staff.
As a Democratic and then independent candidate, Kennedy experienced an unexpected surge in popularity until spending issues and a barrage of negative headlines about his past behavior tanked his campaign. His family name initially brought with it a considerable amount of Democratic support before voters gained exposure to his controversial views.
While running for president, Kennedy gained popularity with the online MAGA movement for his blistering critiques of the public-health bureaucracy and his steadfast opposition to American support for Ukraine’s war against Russia.
Most of all, Kennedy is known for opposing vaccines and blaming them for the sharp increase in childhood autism diagnoses over the past few decades. He frequently makes false claims about the efficacy of vaccines and questions the demonstrated success of vaccines in eradicating diseases like polio and smallpox.
Kennedy has said he will push the incoming Trump administration to take fluoride out of drinking water and routinely promises to “Make America Healthy Again,” a spin on Trump’s famous campaign slogan. The MAHA movement claims to be focused on reevaluating federal funding for healthcare research, banning certain food additives, publishing more vaccine data, and ending the closeness between food and health bureaucrats and large corporations.
Besides vaccines, Kennedy has promoted conspiracy theories on a range of subjects. He repeatedly suggested that man-made chemicals are impacting sexual identification and linked the rise of mass shootings to the proliferation of anti-depressants.
Kennedy often accuses the CIA of being behind the assassination of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, a theory that still holds public interest decades after gunman Lee Harvey Oswald was identified as the Kennedy assassin. Gallup polling from last November found that about two-thirds of Americans believe Oswald did not act alone in killing President Kennedy.
Like Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became popular across the male-oriented podcast circuit where anti-establishment outsiders tend to be well-received. Comedian and podcast king Joe Rogan has praised Kennedy for his work as an environmental lawyer and for his polemical book about Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Last year, Rogan pushed for a public-health expert to debate Kennedy on the efficacy of vaccines after Kennedy appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience and spoke at length about where his skepticism of vaccines comes from.
Kennedy’s bestselling book, The Real Anthony Fauci, tapped into anger over Fauci’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic during the Trump and Biden administrations, and questioned Fauci’s judgement on public health matters across his decades-long career. Fauci was a leading proponent of pandemic lockdowns, school closures, mask mandates, vaccine mandates, and booster shots for potentially vulnerable patients.
Kennedy also became a leading critic of online censorship after “disinformation” nonprofits and government officials specifically targeted him and his anti-vaccine nonprofit. In July 2023, Kennedy testified at a congressional hearing about the federal government’s efforts to pressure social-media companies into suppressing speech. That pressure campaign was the subject of the Murthy v. Missouri Supreme Court case, which the justices threw out for lack of standing.
Before becoming an anti-vaccine activist, Kennedy was a progressive hero for taking on corporations and governments over water pollution. Kennedy’s environmental record once drew speculation that President Obama could appoint him to run the Environmental Protection Agency. Kennedy’s left-wing views on the environment have prompted Trump to repeatedly declare that he would not let Kennedy anywhere near the country’s “liquid gold” — Trump’s nickname for America’s vast oil reserves.
Kennedy is the latest controversial cabinet pick Trump has announced in recent days. His choice of Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) for attorney general and former Democratic Representative-turned GOP activist Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence have brought substantial blowback.
