Trump Announces RFK Jr as HHS Secretary Pick

President-elect Donald J. Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr to lead HHS, he announced Thursday on social media. If confirmed by the Senate, the antivaccine activist and former presidential candidate would wield considerable influence over the health of the nation and could deprioritize or eliminate long-standing public health initiatives.

Trump had previously vowed to let Kennedy, who has no medical training, “go wild” on health care areas from drug policy to food safety, with efforts like vaccination and water fluoridation representing likely targets. In his social media post, Trump promised that an HHS led by Kennedy would “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.”

After ceasing his own independent presidential campaign, Kennedy was welcomed into the Trump fold, where his views on public health, drugs, and nutrition were branded as part of Trump’s "Make America Healthy Again” pitch to address the causes of chronic disease in the US. Kennedy has called for removing fluoride from public water, among other steps. He has long spread the false statement that vaccines cause autism, and has propagated other baseless claims, such as that Wi-Fi causes cancer, antidepressants cause school shootings, and AIDS may not be caused by HIV. He has also touted raw milk, which the FDA warns is especially dangerous amid the bird flu outbreak in dairy cattle, and has encouraged use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 despite evidence that it lacks efficacy.

These statements and goals would likely face tough scrutiny in a Senate confirmation hearing, even as Republicans control both houses of Congress with the incoming term. It's also unclear where Kennedy would stand on health policy efforts such as repealing or weakening the Affordable Care Act, Medicare drug price negotiations, 340B reform, pharmacy benefit manager transparency, or other legislative priorities. In a September op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Kennedy said he would tie drug prices to the prices paid in Europe.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D, Oregon) said in a statement that “Mr. Kennedy's outlandish views on basic scientific facts are disturbing and should worry all parents who expect schools and other public spaces to be safe for their children.” He also hinted that his committee will seek to tie Kennedy and Trump to politically unpopular efforts like repealing the Affordable Care Act and restricting Medicaid.

Even as Kennedy’s influence in Trump’s circle grew over the final weeks of the campaign, many did not expect him to be the HHS nominee, instead surmising that he may help vet resumes and steer policy. Before the election, Trump transition cochair Howard Lutnick told CNN that Kennedy would "of course not" be in charge of HHS. Prior to the announcement, theorized nominees included more traditional picks like neurosurgeon and former housing secretary Ben Carson, former deputy HHS Secretary Eric Hargan, and former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

Instead, Kennedy will represent an unorthodox choice who has vowed to take on “the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to public health,” according to Trump’s announcement. He has also pledged to clear out “entire departments” within HHS and subagencies like FDA that he says have not been doing their jobs.