New Delhi: President-elect Donald Trump on Friday announced that Robert F Kennedy Jr. would lead the Department of Health and Human Services. In an X post, Trump wrote, “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 comes to Public Health,” he added.
“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.”
“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!” (sic), Trump wrote.
Anti-vaccine activist
- Robert F Kennedy Jr. is one of the most prominent anti-vaccine activists in the world. He hails from one of the nation’s most storied political families and is the son of the late Attorney General Robert F Kennedy and the nephew of President John F Kennedy.
- He first challenged President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination last year.
- He then ran as an independent but abandoned his bid this summer after striking a deal to endorse Trump in exchange for a promise to serve in a health policy role during a second Trump administration.
- Kennedy has pushed against processed foods and the use of herbicides like Roundup weed killer. He has long criticised the large commercial farms and animal feeding operations that dominate the industry.
- He is =best known for his criticism of childhood vaccines.
- In July, he said in a podcast interview that “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and told Fox News that he still believes in the long-ago debunked idea that vaccines can cause autism.
- In a 2021 podcast, he urged people to “resist” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines that advise when kids should receive routine vaccinations.
- Kennedy has also worked to shore up support among young mothers in particular, on a message of ridding the US of unhealthy ingredients in foods, promising to model regulations after those imposed in Europe.
- His claims that the US obesity epidemic, as well as a rise in chronic diseases like diabetes, are the result of processed and unhealthy foods have resonated on social media among fitness gurus and mom influencers alike.
Robert F Kennedy Jr. and the President-elect have become good friends. The two campaigned together extensively during the race’s final stretch, and Trump made clear he intended to give Kennedy a major public health role.