Trump taps RFK Jr. for health secretary position
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Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign rally for then- GOP presidential candidate Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27. Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
President-elect Trump has asked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as secretary of health and human services, Trump confirmed on Thursday.
Why it matters: Trump's pick would put one of the nation's foremost vaccine skeptics in charge of America's health care agencies.
- Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again campaign's proposals have already alarmed some public health experts.
- Trump posted on Truth Social that HHS under Kennedy would "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."
- The position requires Senate confirmation.
Catch up quick: Kennedy threw his support behind Trump after dropping his independent presidential bid in August.
- Trump in October said he'd allow Kennedy to "go wild" on federal oversight of food and medicine.
- The Department of Health and Human Services oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.
- Vaccine stocks tumbled with the announcement, Bloomberg reported.
State of play: The "Make America Healthy Again" campaign, led by Kennedy, is built around conspiratorial concerns about the food supply, vaccines and drug industry.
- Trump in his announcement sent a similar message: "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."
- Kennedy has suggested purging staff at federal health agencies and devoting half of the National Institutes of Health's budget to researching alternative health care.
Zoom in: His movement claims it places more emphasis on why people get sick and giving patients options to handle illness other than medication, but some core MAHA ideas perpetuate misinformation and disinformation.
- Following Trump's victory, some officials at federal health agencies expressed concern about a brain drain within the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What he's saying: Kennedy, in a Tuesday post on X, said he'd "put an end to the revolving door" between government and industry.
- A representative for Kennedy did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on Thursday.
Between the lines: Kennedy was dogged by his erratic behavior throughout his short-lived presidential campaign, including stories about leaving a dead bear in Central Park and chainsawing a dead whale's head.
- New York Magazine's Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi left the magazine in October following an alleged "romantic" relationship with Kennedy.
Go deeper:
- How the MAHA movement could shake up public health
- Trump administration 2.0: Tracking his Cabinet, White House picks
Editor's note: This story has been updated with social media posts from Kennedy.
