US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday, November 14, nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be his health and human services secretary.
“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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform in announcing the pick.
Health and Human Services “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,” Trump said.
“Mr Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!”
Trump had indicated during campaigning that he planned to hand the portfolio to the nephew of the assassinated president John F. Kennedy.
After Kennedy abandoned his independent presidential bid in August and endorsed the Republican nominee, Trump said he would let him “go wild” with health and food policy, alarming many experts.
Read more RFK Jr. suspends his campaign and backs Trump: ‘Difficult sacrifice’
Often known as RFK Jr., Kennedy has dismayed other members of one of America’s most famous Democratic families. Like other picks for Trump’s cabinet, he was once an outspoken critic of the New York real estate tycoon.
He was previously a well-respected climate lawyer and was widely reported as a leading candidate for chief of the Environmental Protection Agency under former Democratic president Barack Obama, before ultimately being passed over.
Kennedy’s presidential run featured some bizarre moments – including his claim to have recovered from a parasitic brain worm and an admission that he dumped a dead bear cub in New York’s Central Park after initially picking it up to “skin” it.
Widely known as a vaccine skeptic, RFK Jr. said on November 6, “We’re not going to take vaccines away from anybody,” he told NPR, but noted that he does want to improve vaccine safety.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Associated Press, “I don’t want to go backwards and see children or adults suffer or lose their lives to remind us that vaccines work, and so I am concerned.”
Trump also announced Thursday that he has chosen Doug Collins, a former congressman from Georgia, to run the Department of Veterans Affairs. Collins is a chaplain in the US Air Force Reserve Command. The Republican served in Congress from 2013 to 2021, and he helped defend Trump during his first impeachment process.
Later Thursday, Trump said he was nominating North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to lead the Department of the Interior. After ending his own presidential campaign in December 2023, Burgum endorsed Trump and became an outspoken supporter, appearing on TV news shows and at rallies and other events. He was on Trump’s short list of potential running mates.
Trump also announced Thursday that he will nominate Jay Clayton, who served as chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission during his first term, to serve as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
