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department of health and human services
Alarm Over Trump Choosing 'Extreme, Conspiratorial' RFK Jr. to Lead HHS
"Confirming this lunatic would amount to killing people," one journalist warned amid fears Trump will avoid Senate votes for controversial picks.
Nov 14, 2024
U.S. lawmakers, government watchdogs, and other critics responded with alarm to President-elect Donald Trump's long-anticipated announcement on Thursday that he wants Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a clear and present danger to the nation's health," declared Public Citizen co-president Robert Weissman. "He shouldn't be allowed in the building at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), let alone be placed in charge of the nation's public health agency."
"Donald Trump's bungling of public health policy during the Covid pandemic cost hundreds of thousands of lives," Weissman highlighted. "By appointing Kennedy as his secretary of HHS, Trump is courting another policy-driven public health catastrophe."
The RFK Jr. decision continued a trend of Trump choosing Cabinet secretaries who have demonstrated loyalty to him, even if their qualifications are questionable. After running for president as a Democrat and then an Independent—without support from many members of his political family—Kennedy suspended his campaign and endorsed the Republican in August.
"RFK Jr. poses a danger to public health, scientific research, medicine, and healthcare coverage for millions."
Leading up to the election last week, Trump acknowledged plans to let Kennedy "go wild on health," sparking speculation that he would let the lawyer and conspiracy theorist lead HHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, or National Institutes of Health.
Once lauded for his environmental activism, Kennedy has recently faced criticism for spreading anti-vaccine misinformation, downplaying the climate emergency, and opposing a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. There have also been revelations about a brain worm, a dead baby bear, a whale head, a reported affair with a journalist, and an alleged sexual assault of a babysitter.
Trump—who is known for his love of McDonald's—said in his statement about RFK Jr. that "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," Trump continued. "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!"
Accountable.US executive director Tony Carrk cast doubt on the suggestion that Kennedy's appointment would benefit the public.
"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent years recklessly promoting unfounded, anti-scientific conspiracies about everything from vaccines to antidepressants," Carrk said in a statement. "Not only does he lack any serious credentials, but his troubling grasp of facts poses a serious threat to the health of millions of Americans."
Journalist Mehdi Hasan compared Kennedy to the far-right founder of the fake news website Infowars: "It is difficult to overstate just how extreme, conspiratorial, and insane RFK's views are, on vaccines, microchips, and beyond. He's Alex Jones in a suit."
Noting Kennedy's previous pledge to halt research on drug development and infectious diseases, Slate's Mark Joseph Stern called his selection "just a massive 'fuck you' to the millions of families relying on advancements in treatment for loved ones with ALS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cancer, and so much more," adding that "confirming this lunatic would amount to killing people."
Some senators are already speaking out. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said Thursday: "Dangerous. Unqualified. Unserious."
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said in a statement that "Trump's health agenda isn't a secret: worse healthcare at a higher cost for American families."
"Trump and Republicans in Congress have a proven track record of empowering insurance companies and Big Pharma while leaving everyday Americans to foot the bill. That means higher premiums, weakened protections for pre-existing conditions, criminalizing reproductive healthcare, and attacks on essential health coverage like Medicaid," he noted.
"Mr. Kennedy's outlandish views on basic scientific facts are disturbing and should worry all parents who expect schools and other public spaces to be safe for their children," Wyden added. "When Mr. Kennedy comes before the Finance Committee, it's going to be very clear what Americans stand to lose under Trump and Republicans in Congress."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote on social media that "RFK Jr. poses a danger to public health, scientific research, medicine, and healthcare coverage for millions. He wants to stop parents from protecting their babies from measles and his ideas would welcome the return of polio. I have a lot of questions for his Senate hearing."
While Republicans are set to control Congress next year, Trump's controversial Cabinet picks have stoked fears that he will try to force through his allies with recess appointments, which don't require Senate confirmation.
If RFK Jr. makes it to HHS one way or another, critics are already preparing to challenge him. Center for Biological Diversity environmental health director Lori Ann Burd vowed that "we'll be joining with other organizations concerned with public health and the environment to ensure that Kennedy's dangerous anti-science agenda fails."
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Experts Sound Alarm Over Trump's Promise to Let RFK Jr. 'Control' Health Agencies
"RFK Jr. is an anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist," said one scientist. "A Trump win will be an absolute catastrophe for public health."
Oct 30, 2024
Public health experts reacted with alarm Wednesday to reports that former President Donald Trump promised anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. control over federal agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Agriculture should the Republican nominee defeat Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in next week's election.
Speaking at last week's bigotry-laden campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York, Trump said that if he wins, he'll let Kennedy—who in August suspended his Independent presidential campaign and endorsed the GOP nominee—"go wild on health."
"I'm gonna let him go wild on the foods," Trump vowed. "I'm gonna let him go wild on the medicines."
In a video posted Tuesday on social media, Kennedy said that the GOP nominee promised him control of the Health and Human Services Department, Department of Agriculture, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health, "and a few others."
Kennedy said control of these agencies "is key to making America healthy, because we've got to get off of seed oils, and we've got to get off of pesticide-intensive agriculture."
Despite his stated interest in tackling major public health issues including government corruption and Big Pharma greed, experts warned that, as Columbia University molecular biologist Lucky Tran
said earlier this week: "RFK Jr is an anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist. A Trump win will be an absolute catastrophe for public health."
Kennedy is arguably the world's leading proponent of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, including that vaccines cause autism. He has mixed spurious disparagement of the safety and efficacy of vaccines, including for Covid-19, with attacks on the well-documented deadly greed of the pharmaceutical industry.
There is some ideological overlap between Trump and Kennedy—who, like the ex-president is a former Democrat—including the shared belief in defunding federal public health agencies, purging their ranks, and investigating and possibly prosecuting some of their employees.
"If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags," Kennedy recently
wrote on social media.
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Critics Say RFK Jr. Just Proved Campaign Was Always a 'MAGA Front Designed to Help Donald Trump Win'
"This is always what his campaign was about."
Aug 23, 2024
After days of reporting and signals from the campaign, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday officially suspended his Independent presidential run and endorsed the Republican nominee, far-right former President Donald Trump.
In response to Kennedy suspending his campaign and backing Trump, five of his surviving siblings from his prominent Democratic political family released a joint statement stressing that "we believe" Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
"We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise, and national pride," they said. "Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story."
Kennedy—a lawyer who first ran as a Democrat—was known earlier in his political career for his environmental activism but later became associated with spreading anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, taking a hardline against Palestinian rights, and downplaying the climate crisis. His campaign has been dogged by a series of bizarre revelations, including of sexual assault, a brain worm, and a dead baby bear.
Kennedy's endorsement plans were revealed in a Pennsylvania court filing. While both the lawyer responsible for the filing and a spokesperson for the campaign initially toldCNN that Kennedy had not endorsed Trump, he ultimately did so in Phoenix, Arizona.
"Three great causes drove me to enter this race in the first place, primarily, and these are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an Independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump," said Kennedy, whose running mate was billionaire Nicole Shanahan. "The causes were free speech, the war in Ukraine, and the war on our children."
Kennedy also claimed that Trump "has asked to enlist me in his administration." Public health advocates fear that a Trump win in November could lead to the conspiracy theorist being appointed as secretary of health and human services.
There is speculation that Kennedy will join Trump for his Friday rally in Glendale, Arizona. Before heading there, Trump said: "We just had a very nice endorsement from RFK Jr., Bobby... I want to thank Bobby—that was very nice... He's a great guy, respected by everybody."
Meanwhile, MoveOn
said on social media that "we have always recognized what the RFK Jr. campaign was: a MAGA front designed to help Donald Trump win in November. With Kamala Harris on the rise and both Trump and RFK Jr. cratering, this is a desperate play to shake up the race. RFK Jr.'s endorsement will not save him."
The group's executive director,
Rahna Epting, declared that "as RFK Jr. has been exposed for his extremist views, disturbing behavior, and allegations of sexual violence, his support has dried up, and he's no longer useful to Trump in this race."
"That's why JD Vance publicly asked him to drop out," she added, referring to the Republican's running mate, "and why he's been begging Trump for a job in exchange for leaving the race."
Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, said in a statement that "this shameful endorsement reveals the egomania and rot at the core of RFK Jr.'s candidacy. From the start, right-wing billionaires propped up his campaign to support Trump as a spoiler candidate."
"In the end, Trump and RFK Jr. are just two out-of-touch millionaires looking out for the interests of billionaires," he continued. "If we're going to see a third party in American politics, it will come from the ground up, not a top-down effort driven by another trust fund failson. This November, the Working Families Party is going all-in to beat MAGA and secure a government that will work for the people, not the powerful or the privileged."
Harris-Walz campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon said that "for any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you. In order to deliver for working people and those who feel left behind, we need a leader who will fight for you, not just for themselves, and bring us together, not tear us apart."
"Vice President Harris wants to earn your support," she added. "Even if we do not agree on every issue, Kamala Harris knows there is more that unites us than divides us: respect for our rights, public safety, protecting our freedoms, and opportunity for all."
This post has been updated with comment from the Working Families Party and the Harris-Walz campaign.
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