President-elect Donald Trump announced his intent Thursday to nominate noted vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be his Health and Human Services secretary, disclosing his pick after the Senate left town for the weekend.
“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,” said Trump in a statement.
If confirmed, Kennedy would take the helm at the multitrillion-dollar department that oversees Medicaid, Medicare, scientific research and much more.
The Kennedy pick comes on the heels of Trump’s announcement Wednesday that he would nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as his attorney general, a decision that caused heartburn among Republicans on Capitol Hill. Gaetz also resigned from the House Wednesday.
Similar to Gaetz, Kennedy will likely spur anxiety among Republicans wary of his rhetoric on vaccines, fluoride and other health issues.
But the announcement also comes as the incoming Senate majority leader, John Thune, R-S.D., signaled he’d be open to Trump’s plan to allow for recess appointments of his nominees to clear some of the more controversial Cabinet and agency picks.
Asked about Kennedy before gaveling out for the week, several GOP senators who have been critical of Trump in the past pointedly refused to comment, including Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who will chair the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee next Congress, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and John Barrasso of Wyoming.
After the announcement, Cassidy offered cautious praise.
“RFK Jr. has championed issues like healthy foods and the need for greater transparency in our public health infrastructure,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they will support a conservative, pro-American agenda.”
Other, more Trump-aligned GOP members, including Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, praised the former presidential candidate.
Paul, who has introduced a measure requiring scientists to disclose royalties they receive from drug companies, praised Kennedy for questioning the influence of pharmaceutical companies on drug approvals and regulations.
“No voice has been probably more clear and strong on this than Robert Kennedy. I’m glad he has influence, and I hope he will have a lot of it,” Paul told reporters on Tuesday.
Speaking before the announcement, Tuberville praised Kennedy’s experience researching the side effects of vaccinations, but said he’d have to formally assess Kennedy before making a final call.
Democrats were more critical.
“Mr. Kennedy’s outlandish views on basic scientific facts are disturbing and should worry all parents who expect schools and other public spaces to be safe for their children,” said Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore. “When Mr. Kennedy comes before the Finance Committee, it’s going to be very clear what Americans stand to lose under Trump and Republicans in Congress.”
“Donald Trump’s selection of a notorious anti-vaxxer to lead HHS could not be more dangerous—this is cause for deep concern for every American,” said Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., who called the nomination “catastrophic.”
“There is no telling how far a fringe conspiracy theorist like RFK Jr. could set back America in terms of public health, reproductive rights, research and innovation, and so much else,” she said.
Trump has yet to name his picks for other key health care posts, including Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director and National Institutes of Health director. All also require Senate confirmation.
An atypical resume, an atypical plan
Kennedy is not a physician and has never received formal medical training.
He founded the anti-vaccination group Children’s Health Defense Fund in 2018, and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic advocated against vaccinating kids against the virus, bucking scientific data.
But, even with his anti-vaccine views, the federal government does not have the ability to overturn vaccine requirements for children or adults. That decision is left to state and local health departments. But the HHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could change vaccine recommendations, a move that could have downstream ripple effects on the population.
Trump and Kennedy could also use their influence to cherry-pick what information they share with the public regarding vaccinations, and spread misinformation.
Echoing Trump’s pledge to “drain the swamp,” Kennedy is a proponent of restructuring the federal health agencies, and would have a wide berth to do so as head of HHS.
He proposed eliminating the Food and Drug Administration’s nutrition departments during a recent interview on NBC, and has warned agency workers to “pack your bags.”
In addition to vaccine skepticism, Kennedy has focused on reducing chronic diseases and coined the slogan MAHA, or Make America Healthy Again, as a rallying cry among his supporters. During the campaign, Trump told a crowd he planned to let Kennedy “go wild” on health care.
But while Kennedy’s views on some topics are well-known, he has said less about other health issues under HHS’ jurisdiction, including the 2010 health insurance law, Medicare and Medicaid.
Kennedy has said he supports abortion limits up to fetal viability, which is 23 or 24 weeks — a policy position that could make it difficult for him to garner support from some conservative Republicans and anti-abortion groups.
The Kennedy pick comes at a time when trust in public health institutions are at a low following the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s unclear if Kennedy’s nomination would help or hurt public trust among Trump supporters, but Democrats are already unhappy.
“I’m not going to really take any kind of advice [from] a dude that chainsaws whale heads and delivers dead bears into a park,” Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said on Thursday, speaking of Kennedy’s peculiar admissions of dumping a dead bear in New York’s Central Park and driving a severed whale’s head across state lines.
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