President-elect Donald Trump has selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“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,” said Trump in his Thursday announcement.
“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!” added Trump.
The announcement comes just over a week after the president-elect won back the presidency.
RFK Jr. joined the 2024 presidential campaign cycle as a candidate for the highest office. The son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the presidential election in August after initially running as a Democrat and then switching to running as an independent.
He endorsed Trump shortly after suspending his campaign and hit the campaign trail for the Trump-Vance ticket while continuing to tout his plans to “Make America Healthy Again” under a possible Trump presidency.
“The Democratic Party is the party of war. It’s the party of the CIA. You had Kamala Harris giving a speech at the Democratic convention that was written by neocons. It was belligerent, pugnacious. It talked about domination of the world by the United States through our weapons of war. It’s the party today that wants to divide Americans. It’s a party that is dismantling women’s sports by letting men play women’s sports,” said Kennedy Jr.
“It’s the party of Wall Street. It’s the party of Bill Gates, who just gave $50 million to Harris. It’s the party, and the Harris campaign is very proud that it received the endorsement of 50 former CIA agents and officers and of John Bolton and of Dick Cheney.”
Kennedy was asked about his potential role in the next administration and whether he would start “clearing out the top-level federal service workers that are currently at the FDA and the CDC.”
“In some categories, their entire departments, like the nutrition department in the FDA, they have to go. They’re not doing their job. They’re not protecting our kids. Why do we have Froot Loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients, and you go to Canada, and it’s got two or three?”
This is not the first time Kennedy has been considered for a Cabinet position in a presidential administration. In 2008, then-President-elect Barack Obama was reported to have strongly considered naming Kennedy to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to Politico at the time.
Transition team spokesperson: Kennedy is a “once in a generation thought leader”
Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson for the transition team, noted that more Cabinet picks are likely to be announced later and that Kennedy is a “once-in-a-generation thought leader” who was likely to be offered a position in the administration.
“Certainly President Trump wants to find a place for RFK Jr. He has made that very clear throughout the campaign. RFK Jr. is a once-in-a-generation thought leader. He’s an independent mind and critical thinker. We definitely need more of that in Washington, D.C. 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. That’s another promise that President Trump made on the campaign trail with an appointment of RFK Jr. to whatever President Trump decides. That promise will be delivered upon,” said Leavitt.
Earlier in the week, Kennedy called on everyday Americans to suggest what people and policies should be implemented during Trump’s second administration. Kennedy’s allies launched a website called “Policies for the People” to facilitate voter suggestions.
The website states the suggestions will help fill the more than 4,000 appointments across the executive branch.
“President Trump has asked Bobby [Kennedy] to help ‘drain the swamp’ by giving him an influential leadership role on his transition team,” said a post on the website. “But Bobby cannot do this alone, so he is now turning to the wisdom and expertise of his supporters — and the larger community.”
The website is similar to what billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has said about “maximum transparency” related to his impending role co-leading the Department of Government Efficiency. “Known as “DOGE,” the task force will “dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies,” said Trump earlier in the week.
“All actions of the Department of Government Efficiency will be posted online for maximum transparency. Anytime the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know! We will also have a leaderboard for the most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining,” posted Musk to X of how DOGE will operate.
