Trump chooses anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary
President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting a man whose views public health officials have decried as dangerous in charge of a massive agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research, Medicare and Medicaid.
"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 Thursday in a post on his Truth Social site announcing the appointment. Kennedy, he said, would "end the Chronic Disease epidemic" and "Make America Great and Healthy Again!"
Trump said Kennedy would target drugs, food additives and chemicals.
As one of the most prominent anti-vaccine activists in the world, Kennedy's nomination immediately alarmed some public health officials.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Associated Press, "I don't want to go backwards and see children or adults suffer or lose their lives to remind us that vaccines work, and so I am concerned."
Trump also announced Thursday that he has chosen Doug Collins, a former congressman from Georgia, to run the Department of Veterans Affairs. Collins is a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command. The Republican served in Congress from 2013 to 2021, and he helped defend Trump during his first impeachment process.
Kennedy hails from one of the nation's most storied political families and is the son of the late Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy. He first challenged President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination last year. He then ran as an independent but abandoned his bid this summer after striking a deal to endorse Trump in exchange for a promise to serve in a health policy role during a second Trump administration.
He and the president-elect have since become good friends. The two campaigned together extensively during the race's final stretch, and Trump made clear he intended to give Kennedy a major public health role.
"I'm going to let him go wild on health," Trump said at a rally last month.
During the campaign, Kennedy told NewsNation that Trump had asked him to "reorganize" agencies including the CDC, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration.
Kennedy has pushed against processed foods and the use of herbicides like Roundup weed killer. He has long criticized the large commercial farms and animal feeding operations that dominate the industry.
But he is perhaps best known for his criticism of childhood vaccines.
Again and again, Kennedy has made his opposition to vaccines clear. In July, he said in a podcast interview that "There's no vaccine that is safe and effective" and told FOX News that he still believes in the long-ago debunked idea that vaccines can cause autism.
In a 2021 podcast he urged people to "resist" CDC guidelines that advise when kids should receive routine vaccinations.
"I see somebody on a hiking trail carrying a little baby and I say to him, 'Better not get them vaccinated,"' Kennedy said.
Repeated scientific studies in the U.S. and abroad have found no link between vaccines and autism. Vaccines have been proven safe and effective in laboratory testing and in real world use in hundreds of millions of people over decades. The World Health Organization credits childhood vaccines with preventing as many as five million deaths a year.
Donald Trump greets Robert F. Kennedy Jr., at a Turning Point Action campaign rally, Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump during his first term launched Operation Warp Speed, an effort to speed the production and distribution of a vaccine to combat COVID-19. The resulting vaccines were widely credited, including by Trump himself, with saving lives.
Kennedy has also worked to shore up support among young mothers in particular, on a message of ridding the U.S. of unhealthy ingredients in foods, promising to model regulations after those imposed in Europe. His claims that the U.S. obesity epidemic, as well as a rise in chronic diseases like diabetes, are the result of processed and unhealthy foods has resonated on social media among fitness gurus and mom influencers alike.
It remains unclear how that will square with Trump's history of deregulation of big industries, including food. Trump has pushed for fewer inspections of the meat industry, for example.
Kennedy's stance on vaccines raises question about his ability to get confirmed, even in a GOP-controlled Senate. He also has said he would make a controversial recommendation to remove fluoride from drinking water, although fluoride levels are mandated by state and local governments. The addition of the mineral has been cited as leading to improved dental health and is considered safe at low levels.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune would not comment on Trump's pick of Kennedy or any other potential nominee. "I'm not going to make any judgments about any of these folks at this point," he said.
But Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO, praised the HHS pick, posting on X: "Bad day for Big Pharma! @RobertKennedyJr."
Several Democrats quickly condemned the selection.
Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the No. 3 Democrat, said that Kennedy's confirmation would be "nothing short of a disaster for the health of millions of families."
But not every Democrat recoiled from the news. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he was "excited" for Kennedy to lead HHS. Polis said he wants to see Kennedy take on "big pharma" and hopes he will "lean into personal choice" on vaccines.
That idea is concerning to former New York Public Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan, who said that if people opt against vaccines, deadly viruses could run wild. He points to an uptick in measles outbreaks -- 16 have occurred so far this year compared to four last year. "That's going to continue if we have someone at the top of our health system that is saying, 'I'm not so sure about the science here,"' Vasan said.
FDA could have one of the biggest shakeups, with Kennedy's promises of more regulations -- action that would buck the moves that previous Republican administrations have made. He has promised a crackdown on food dyes and preservatives. And with pharmaceutical companies, he's suggested that drugmakers be barred from advertising on TV, a multibillion-dollar enterprise that accounts for most of the industry's marketing dollars. He also proposed eliminating fees that drugmakers pay the FDA to review their products.
He wants to weaken FDA regulations around a host of unsubstantiated therapies, including psychedelics and stem cells as well as discredited COVID-era drugs like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.
Kennedy also will focus on ending the "revolving door" of employees who have previously worked for pharmaceutical companies or leave government service to work for that industry, his former campaign communications manager, Del Bigtree, told the AP last month.
This past weekend, Kennedy said he wanted to fire 600 employees at NIH, which oversees vaccine research and replace them with 600 new people. In separate comments, he has said that in his first week he would order a pause in drug development and infectious disease research, shifting the focus to chronic diseases.
Kennedy's anti-vaccine non-profit group, Children's Health Defense, currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.
Trump also announced Thursday that he will nominate Jay Clayton, who served as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission during his first term, to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
----
Seitz reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Mary Clare Jalonick and Matthew Perrone in Washington, Mike Stobbe in New York, and JoNel Aleccia in Temecula, California contributed to this report.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parts of Canada hit with freezing rain, heavy snowfall warnings, expected to last through Monday
Significant snowfall and heavy rain hit parts of Canada on Sunday and the weather system is expected to continue into Monday morning and throughout the day.
Who is Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Syria's Assad?
Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader of the insurgency in Syria, has spent years working to remake his public image, renouncing to ties to al-Qaida.
Most Canadians view illegal immigrant border crossings as concern for U.S.: Nanos survey
More than 80 per cent of Canadians believe the flow of illegal immigrants from Canada to the U.S. is a concern, according to a new survey.
Suspect wanted after victim forcibly confined, assaulted, and threatened with death in Scarborough
Police have released images of an individual who allegedly forcibly confined, and assaulted and threatened to kill another person in southwest Scarborough over the weekend.
Jay-Z accused of sexually assaulting 13-year-old in 2000 incident along with Sean 'Diddy' Combs
A woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Sean 'Diddy' Combs has amended her lawsuit to include allegations that she was also assaulted by Jay-Z at the same party.
Trump calls for immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and says a U.S. withdrawal from NATO is possible
Donald Trump on Sunday pushed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to act to reach an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine, describing it as part of his active efforts as U.S. president-elect to end the war despite being weeks from taking office.
A timeline of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the search for his killer
The search for the killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's has stretched beyond New York City and continues. Here's what we know so far.
Baby found dead in south Edmonton parking lot: police
Police are investigating the death of an infant in south Edmonton.
Pantone names its colour of the year for 2025
Pantone has named an 'evocative soft brown' its colour of the year for 2025, continuing a tradition that has now run for more than a quarter of a century.
Local Spotlight
Kiwanis Club and Toys ‘R’ Us team up to give hundreds of kids Christmas gifts
Northmount Kiwanis Club of Calgary invited 500 kids to Toys "R" Us for its annual Toy Project Sunday.
Major Manitoba fossil milestones highlight the potential for future discoveries in the province
A trio of fossil finds through the years helped put Manitoba on the mosasaur map, and the milestone of those finds have all been marked in 2024.
The 61st Annual Christmas Daddies Telethon raises more than $559,000 for children in need
The 61st annual Christmas Daddies Telethon continued its proud Maritime tradition, raising more than $559,000 for children in need on Saturday.
Calgary company steps up to help grieving family with free furnace after fatal carbon monoxide poisoning
A Calgary furnace company stepped up big time Friday to help a Calgary family grieving the loss of a loved one.
'A well-loved piece': Historic carousel display from Hudson’s Bay Company store lands at Winnipeg shop
When a carousel setup from the Hudson’s Bay Company became available during an auction, a Winnipeg business owner had to have it.
Sask. doctor facing professional charges in circumcision case
A Saskatoon doctor has been accused of unprofessional conduct following a high-cost adult circumcision that included a request for the patient to text unsecured post-op pictures of his genitals.
Regina home recognized internationally for architectural design
Jane Arthur and her husband David began a unique construction project in 2014. Now, a decade later, their home in Regina's Cathedral neighbourhood has won a title in the Urban House and Villa category at the World Architecture Festival.
Calgary director Kiana Rawji turns her lens toward slums of Nairobi with 'Mama of Manyatta'
Two films shot in Kenya by a director and writer based in Brooklyn who grew up in Calgary are getting their Calgary premiere screening Saturday.
N.S. woman finds endangered leatherback sea turtle washed up on Cape Breton beach
Mary Janet MacDonald has gone for walks on Port Hood Beach, N.S., most of her life, but in all those years, she had never seen anything like the discovery she made on Saturday: a leatherback sea turtle.