Trump selects RFK Jr. to head HHS

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to run the Department of Health and Human Services, a move that would elevate a prominent vaccine skeptic and pharmaceutical industry critic to a top role on federal health policy.

The move was first reported by Politico, which cited a person familiar with Trump’s plans. CNN reported that Trump has already offered the post to Kennedy.

Kennedy has espoused a number of unorthodox views on public health, most notably questioning the safety and efficacy of vaccines — statements which contradict guidance from the mainstream medical community. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, he called the shots a “crime against humanity” and compared them to the Nazi Holocaust. Those remarks drew widespread condemnation — including from his wife, the actress Cheryl Hines.

He also has said that he will work with Trump to remove fluoride from water systems — upending 80 years of public health consensus.

Kennedy’s selection would ignite a political firestorm. If confirmed by the US Senate, he would wield unprecedented influence over public health, drugs, food and nutrition — with the potential to disrupt related industries — as a member of an administration that has vowed to reshape the federal government.

Shares of vaccine makers dropped after the report from Politico on Thursday. Moderna Inc. shares fell as much 7%, Pfizer Inc. shares fell 3% and Novavax Inc. dropped as much as 5% after the report.

Trump transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in an interview on Fox News earlier Thursday said Trump was looking to “find a place” for Kennedy in his second-term administration.

“RFK Jr. is a once-in-a-generation thought leader. He’s an independent mind, a critical thinker. We definitely need more of that in Washington, DC,” Leavitt said. “As for his specific position, I’ll let President Trump announce that, but RFK Jr. will focus in the Trump administration on making America healthy again.”

Kennedy is the scion of a prominent Democratic family but left the party to mount an independent presidential bid this cycle before eventually endorsing Trump. He criss-crossed the country to help elect the president-elect, appearing at rallies and events.

The appointment of Kennedy to the top health policy job in the administration would seal a political marriage of convenience between two former rivals. In the waning days of the campaign, Trump said he would let Kennedy “go wild” on health, adapting his signature campaign slogan to declare that he would “Make America Healthy Again.”

The week before the election, Kennedy said Trump had promised him “control of the public health agencies.”

Influential Post

As head of HHS, Kennedy would lead a sprawling federal department that entails more than 100 programs supporting medicine, public health and social services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Food and Drug Administration.

HHS was on the frontlines of the federal response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with Trump’s management of the outbreak during his first term drawing sharp criticism, including from those who accuse him of downplaying its severity.

Overseeing the agency would put Kennedy at the forefront of some of the most contentious policy debates surrounding the incoming administration — including abortion rights and health insurance.

On health care, Trump has floated seeking an alternative to the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. The president-elect has denied wanting to end the program but has not provided specifics on how he might revise or replace the law, saying during the debate that he had the “concepts of a plan.”

Trump’s HHS secretaries during his first term included among others, Tom Price, who resigned after criticism over taxpayer-funded air travel, and Alex Azar who split with Trump over the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Scandalous Headlines

In addition to his controversial views, Kennedy’s presidential campaign was barraged by a series of scandalous tabloid headlines: The disposal of a bear carcass in New York City’s Central Park, an escapade involving a beached whale and a chainsaw.

Kennedy, 70, is the son of former Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy. 

Both men were assassinated in the 1960s, and Trump has also promised a commission on presidential assassinations to re-open those cases.

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