Donald Trump has selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the vaccine-sceptic environmental activist, to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Mr Kennedy ran for president in this year's election as an independent before dropping out in August and endorsing Trump in exchange for a role in the Republican's administration.
The pick, if approved, would mean he is in charge of the country’s top health agency.
Announcing the news on social media, 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.
The Department of Health and Human Services oversees many of the US’ biggest health programmes and schemes including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and the massive Medicare and Medicaid Services programs, which provide health coverage for the poor, those aged 65 and older, and the disabled.
Medicaid and Medicare's tens of millions of enrollees mean HHS had a $3.09 trillion budget for fiscal year
Mr Kennedy has previously pushed debunked claims that vaccines cause autism, and had spread conspiracy theories about former National Institutes of Health official Anthony Fauci during Covid-19.
But he has in recent weeks attempted to row back from those positions, saying he is not going to take vaccines away from the American public.
In a recent interview with MSNBC, he said: “I’m going to make sure scientific safety studies and efficacy are out there, and people can make individual assessments about whether that product is going to be good for them.”
He has claimed his priorities include addressing what he calls the "chronic disease epidemic" of conditions including obesity, diabetes and autism, and reducing chemicals in food.
But he is likely to face severe opposition over previous proposals to gut the 18,000-employee Food and Drug Administration - which ensures the safety of food, drugs and medical devices - and replace hundreds of employees at the National Institutes of Health.
"FDA's war on public health is about to end," he wrote on X in late October, adding that includes its "aggressive suppression" of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, sunshine, and other items.
"If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags," he wrote.
In early November, he said he would recommend fluoride be removed from public water supplies, falsely claiming on X that the chemical is associated with bone fractures and cancer.
Mr Kennedy, who first sought the Democratic nomination before becoming an independent, had a rocky presidential run marked by attention-grabbing media headlines.
During his campaign, he acknowledged in a video posted online that he dumped a dead bear in New York City's Central Park a decade ago and staged it to look like a bike had hit it.
He proclaimed he had "so many skeletons in my closet" after a former family babysitter accused him of sexual assault. He denied that a large animal in a picture of him posing with a barbecued carcass belonged to a canine.
His campaign also confirmed a report that he had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has since fully recovered.
