President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
On Thursday, Trump announced his selection, confirming earlier reports from CNN, and expressed that he was excited to share the news.
“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,” Trump said in a post on X. “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!”
As we previously shared, RFK jr. Went on his own presidential campaign last year—first as a Democratic challenger to President Joe Biden and later as an independent—mainly aimed at addressing “the chronic disease epidemic.” He suggested several policies to improve food safety and environmental rules, support holistic medicines, and change how public funding is allocated for vaccine research.
In the last days of Kennedy’s campaign, he met with Trump several times to talk about the possibility of him endorsing Trump in return for a position in his administration. Kennedy suspended his campaign in August and endorsed Trump on the same day.
In October, Trump hinted that Kennedy would manage public health if he was reelected. During a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Trump told the crowd he would allow Kennedy to “go wild on health,” “go wild on food,” and “go wild on medicines.”
Since Election Day, Kennedy has promised to make significant changes to the country’s public health guidelines. Last week, he stated that he would “immediately” start studying vaccine safety and effectiveness, but assured that he would not “take vaccines away from anybody.” He also pledged to officially recommend that states and local governments remove fluoride from public water.
