Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been selected by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as his next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. This appointment will join Trump's string of controversial nominees whose confirmation procedures will test Senate Republicans' allegiance.
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In an X post, Trump stated that the safety and health of all Americans is the top priority for any administration and that HHS will be crucial in ensuring that everyone is shielded from dangerous chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and food additives that have contributed to the nation's severe health crisis. "To put an end to the epidemic of chronic diseases and to make America great and healthy once more, Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research and beacons of transparency."
One of the most well-known anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists in the country for years, Kennedy accepted the offer Thursday. He has a history of disseminating erroneous conspiracy theories about the effectiveness and safety of vaccinations. After the election, he has been in Palm Beach, Florida, for a few days.
Kennedy stressed the need to purge the department of "corruption" and pledged to "provide Americans with transparency" so they may make their own health choices in a statement released on Thursday.
In order to enable the agencies to fulfill their objective of making Americans the healthiest people on the planet once again, Kennedy 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."
Kennedy would be in charge of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act if he were elected as the nation's top public health official. It's unclear whether Trump and his health officials would unveil a plan to enhance Obamacare, as he said during the campaign, even if he has shifted away from trying to completely dismantle the legislation.
Any changes that Trump and legislative Republicans try to make to Medicaid, which covers health care for Americans with low incomes, would also implicate Kennedy. During Trump's first term, Congress attempted in vain to cut the program's budget, and the government attempted to impose work requirements, which were mostly rebuffed in court. Nearly 72.5 million Americans are covered by the program, which is anticipated to be targeted during Trump's second term, particularly as the GOP looks for savings to counteract the tax cuts they want to enact.
Given that Trump's transition co-chair Howard Lutnick told CNN just days before the election that Kennedy was "not getting a job for HHS," Kennedy's appointment—which Politico was the first to report on—is noteworthy.
"He wouldn't oversee HHS, would he?" On "The Source with Kaitlan Collins," he was questioned.
Lutnick said, "Obviously not."
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