by Sharon Rondeau
(Nov. 14, 2024) — At 4:12 p.m. EST, President-Elect Donald J. Trump announced his choice of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., 70, for Secretary of 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),” Trump wrote on TruthSocial. “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. 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!”
An environmental lawyer, Kennedy also is founder of Children’s Health Defense (CHD), a non-profit seeking to improve children’s well-being “by ending toxic exposure” and “to encourage, engage and empower to preserve fundamental and human rights.”
He is the son of U.S. Senator from New York and former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Sr.; nephew of the late Sen. Edward (Ted) Kennedy; and of President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated on November 22, 1963.
RFK Sr. was killed by an assassin’s bullet on June 5, 1968 when RFK Jr. was 14.
Currently the HHS website displays the message, “Risk Less. Do More,” described as “A national campaign to increase awareness of, confidence in, and uptake of vaccines that reduce severe illness from flu, COVID-19, and RSV in at-risk populations,” while CHD provides documents free of charge which can be used to challenge vaccine mandates as well as referrals to attorneys working in the arena of “health freedom.”
Kennedy launched his 2024 presidential campaign in Boston in April 2023 as a Democrat, later switching to Independent after being shut out of the Democrat primary debates.
During his campaign RFK was at times perceived as an attractive alternative to Trump, perhaps drawing more from the future Republican presidential nominee’s base than from Democrats.
According to Trump 2024 campaign spokesman Steven Cheung when Kennedy reregistered as an Independent in October of last year, “Voters should not be deceived by anyone who pretends to have conservative values. The fact is that RFK has a disturbing background steeped in radical, liberal positions.”
If confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy will have oversight over a myriad of programs such as Head Start; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), also known as “welfare”; the “SNAP” program, formerly known as “Food Stamps”; “Health & Safety” programs dealing with food, “violence & abuse,” drug and medical devices; illness outbreaks, and “Prevention & Wellness.”
Another HHS division is the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP), which states it “provides leadership in the protection of the rights, welfare, and wellbeing of human subjects involved in research conducted or supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”
According to newly-minted Senate majority whip John Barrasso (R-WY), following members’ swearing-in on January 3, 2025, the Senate plans to begin confirmation hearings of Trump’s cabinet nominees so that when he is inaugurated on January 20, he can launch his second term effectively.