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Robert F Kennedy Jr. is his choice for secretary of health and human services, Trump announced Thursday, Nov. 14.
"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 said on Truth Social.
"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 went on to say that Kennedy will restore the agencies to the traditions of "gold standard scientific research" and "beacons of transparency."
Kennedy, who dropped his longshot presidential run in August, is the son of the late US Attorney General and New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and is the nephew of President John F. Kennedy.
In recent years, he has sparked controversy after pushing conspiracy theories linking vaccines to autism, and railing against the COVID-19 vaccine. In 2011, he founded the Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit activist group known for anti-vaccine propaganda.
Kennedy rejected the idea that he is “anti-vaccine” during an interview with NBC News following Trump’s re-election, telling the outlet, “If vaccines are working for somebody, I’m not going to take them away. People ought to have choice, and that choice ought to be informed by the best information.”
He went on to tell NBC News that the nutrition departments at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “have to go” because its workers were “not doing their job.” He also said he wanted to address the ingredients in America’s food that are “illegal in Europe” and “making our kids sick.
Kennedy thanked Trump for his "leadership and courage" in a post on X, adding that he looked forward to advancing the president-elect's "vision to make America healthy again."
"We have a generational opportunity to bring together the greatest minds in science, medicine, industry, and government to put an end to the chronic disease epidemic," he said.
"I look forward to working with the more than 80,000 employees at HHS to free the agencies from the smothering cloud of corporate capture so they can pursue their mission to make Americans once again the healthiest people on Earth."
Trump’s decision to name Kennedy as secretary of health comes on the heels of another controversial cabinet pick: that of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general. Gaetz, who was previously investigated over allegations of sexual misconduct, has been a staunch supporter of the president-elect.
Trump has already named three other New Yorkers to senior positions, picking one of his strongest allies in Congress, Elise Stefanik, to serve as United States ambassador to the United Nations and a former member of his first administration, Tom Homan, as border czar.
He also named former congressman and gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin to run the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
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