Trump announced the decision in a post to the social media platform X and Truth Social.
“I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS),” he wrote. “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.”
“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!” Trump added.
HHS is the nation’s top federal health agency with a budget of almost $2 trillion, which it uses to administer programs like Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
The department oversees 13 subagencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, which are responsible for responding to public health threats like COVID-19 and bird flu and for approving new drugs including vaccines.
Kennedy has said that all of the divisions need reform and plans to replace many staff members throughout the agency.
There is still a chance that the agency could be headed by someone other than RFK Jr. since the position requires Senate confirmation. Trump though has demanded that Senate Republicans concede their role in vetting his nominees and allow recess appointments.
If Kennedy does end up heading HHS, he will also bring a skepticism of pharmaceutical companies and the federal agencies overseeing them.
The move roiled Democrats and public health leaders, who worry Kennedy could meddle with key government agencies, amplify vaccine hesitancy and direct agency funding to favor his preferred views.
“Donald Trump’s selection of a notorious anti-vaxxer to lead HHS could not be more dangerous—this is cause for deep concern for every American. There is no telling how far a fringe conspiracy theorist like RFK Jr. could set back America in terms of public health, reproductive rights, research and innovation, and so much else,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
“Confirming RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary would be nothing short of a disaster for the health of millions of families. I urge my Senate Republican colleagues to join me in forcefully condemning and opposing this catastrophic nomination.”
