President-Elect Trump Nominates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Lead HHS
By Physician’s Briefing Staff HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Nov. 14, 2024 -- President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The department encompasses numerous key agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, Medicaid, and Medicare.
In a statement, Trump, who has already said he would let Kennedy "go wild on health," reinforced his would-be appointee's image as a maverick.
"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 in a post on his Truth Social site announcing the nomination. Kennedy, he said, would "Make America Great and Healthy Again!"
It has been a dramatic arc for Kennedy, whose namesake father was assassinated in 1968 in the midst of a campaign to become the Democratic presidential nominee that year.
Kennedy Jr. was himself a Democrat until he campaigned in this year's presidential campaign as an independent focused on health care. But he abandoned the race after receiving a pledge from the Republican Trump that he would be given a high-ranking position in health policy if Trump won the election.
However, Kennedy's many controversial positions on various aspects of health have made him a target of critics. He has long claimed that the COVID-19 vaccines employed during the pandemic caused more harm than good -- a claim not borne out by science, most experts say. He has touted the long-discredited notion that childhood vaccines can cause autism. He is also a supporter of the safety of raw, unpasteurized milk (long linked to outbreaks of illness) and an opponent of fluoride in drinking water, something that for decades has been a mainstay of dental health.
Kennedy has long cast himself as a fighter against Big Pharma and food conglomerates, something that may have bolstered Trump's appeal among voting blocks such as young mothers, the Associated Press noted. As such, Kennedy has pushed for tougher regulation of the food and drug industry, which could be at odds with Republicans' promises of deregulation in a second Trump term.
Associated Press Article
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted November 2024
Read this next
High-Volume Exercise Tied to Increased Coronary Artery Calcification Score
WEDNESDAY, May 28, 2025 -- Male athletes with high-volume exercise training have a higher burden of calcified plaque than male nonathletes, according to a review published in the...
Odds of Cardiovascular Events Up for RSV Hospitalization Versus COVID-19 Hospitalization
WEDNESDAY, May 28, 2025 -- Patients with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hospitalization have increased odds of any acute cardiovascular event compared with COVID-19...
Sedentary Behavior in U.S. Adults Declined in Last Decade
WEDNESDAY, May 28, 2025 -- Sedentary behavior among U.S. adults fell between 2013 and 2020 but plateaued after that, according to a research letter published online May 21 in...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.