Donald Trump picks Robert Kennedy Jr to run US health department

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free

A guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world.

Donald Trump has nominated vaccine skeptic and former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the latest in a series of controversial Cabinet posts. It’s a personnel matter.

The appointment puts Kennedy, who has questioned coronavirus vaccines and been critical of the pharmaceutical industry, in charge of a $1.8 trillion department with far-reaching influence over drug regulation and public health. .

President Trump said in a statement Thursday that he was “thrilled” to nominate Kennedy for his position. “For too long, the American people have been crushed by the food industrial complex and drug companies that have perpetrated deceit, misinformation, and disinformation about public health,” the president-elect said.

President Trump has roiled Washington in recent days with a series of controversial Cabinet appointments, raising questions about how many of his Cabinet members will make it through the Senate confirmation process. On Wednesday, he nominated controversial allies Matt Gaetz to be attorney general and Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence.

President Trump said that as HHS Secretary, President Kennedy will oversee agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and “return these agencies to a tradition of gold-standard scientific research and a beacon of transparency.” said. To overcome the chronic disease epidemic and make America great and healthy again! ”

In the final weeks of his presidential campaign, Trump said: [Kennedy] I get obsessed with health and I get obsessed with food. . . However, his exact role in any administration is unclear, and drug companies have expressed concerns about the possibility of him being given a formal role.

Mr. Kennedy defeated a number of other candidates, including former housing secretary and neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, according to people close to the talks.

The nomination rewards Mr. Kennedy for quitting his own presidential campaign and instead supporting Mr. Trump, helping provide votes to the former president, the people said.

Kennedy’s appointment as the country’s top health official is likely to cause alarm among public health experts and the pharmaceutical community. He described the COVID-19 vaccine as “the deadliest vaccine ever created” and said last year that the virus was being used to save Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people, “an ethnic group.” “They are being targeted,” he said.

Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said after the announcement that President Kennedy’s “outlandish views on basic scientific facts raise concerns and make schools and other public spaces safer for children.” This should worry all parents who are expecting the same.”

But Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate Health Committee, praised Kennedy’s selection, saying he “championed issues like healthy food and the need for greater transparency in public health infrastructure.”

President Kennedy said he would redirect government resources to fighting chronic diseases instead of spending money on prescription drugs, and would also float plans to remove fluoride from water systems and confront food companies over additives in food. .

As investors digested the announcement, the S&P XBI index of small and medium-sized biotech companies fell sharply at the end of the day, closing 3% lower.

In an interview with NBC News President Kennedy insisted last week: “If a vaccine works for someone, I’m not going to take it away from them.” People should have the right to choose. ” But he added that it would eliminate “an entire division” of the FDA.

Kennedy’s appointment sets the stage for some of his allies to be appointed to other health agencies such as the FDA, CDC, and National Institutes of Health. Callie and Casey Means, the healthcare influencers and entrepreneur brothers who are advising President Kennedy, and Stanford, who opposed the mass rollout of coronavirus vaccines, according to people close to the talks. Jay Bhattacharya, a university professor, is said to be vying for the position.

Health officials from the former Trump administration are also running, including Joe Grogan, Eric Hagan and Paul Mango.