President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
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…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 14, 2024
The cabinet position oversees U.S. government health agencies including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health and other agencies responsible for family health, Medicare and Medicaid.
Trump has signaled for weeks that Kennedy could hold a high-level health position in his administration.
"He knows it better than anybody," Trump told reporters about Kennedy during the campaign. "He happens to have views I agree with very strongly and I have for a long time."
At a rally during his campaign, Trump said of Kennedy "I'm going to let him go wild on health, I'm going to let him go wild on the food, I'm going to let him go wild on medicines."
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Kennedy has espoused debunked claims that vaccines cause autism and written a book that accuses former NIH Director Anthony Fauci of controlling media and government funding for health to influence scientific research.
He is the founder of the Children's Health Defense, a nonprofit group that advocates against the use of vaccines.
Kennedy ran as an independent for the 2024 presidential nomination, and later ended his run to endorse Trump in a deal where he expected to receive a role overseeing health policy.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, posted on X in support of the nomination, specifically agreeing with some of Kennedy's views on drug prices and the use of pesticides.
I’m excited by the news that the President-Elect will appoint @RobertKennedyJr to @HHSGov. He helped us defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado in 2019 and will help make America healthy again by shaking up HHS and FDA. I hope he leans into personal choice on vaccines rather than… pic.twitter.com/cILtTYplcn
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) November 14, 2024
Kennedy's nomination is subject to Senate approval.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
