President Trump is expected to tap anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a source familiar with the decision told NewsNation.
HHS has a budget of nearly $2 billion and administers federal health programs including Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. HHS and its subagencies are responsible for responding to diseases and public health threats like COVID-19 and bird flu, as well as approving new drugs, including vaccines.
The position requires Senate confirmation. While it could be difficult, the nomination is a sign Trump feels empowered by the comfortable Republican majority in the upper chamber.
The move will roil 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.
Kennedy founded one of the most prominent anti-vaccine groups in the country and has promoted the debunked claim that childhood vaccines cause autism. Kennedy said in recent interviews he doesn’t want to take away any approved vaccines, but he claims that health agencies haven’t done enough research on them.
The nomination is a reward for Kennedy, who ran first as a Democrat in the presidential race before switching to an independent, and then dropping out and throwing his support behind Trump. It’s also an acknowledgement that Kennedy’s big bet on Trump paid off substantially.
Kennedy has said federal health regulators are “sock puppets” held captive by industry special interests. Kennedy vowed to purge entire departments at the FDA to root out corruption.
Kennedy has most recently claimed he wants to eliminate fluoride in the country’s drinking water supply, concerning health officials who consider adding the mineral chemical a major advancement to preserving teeth.
In the closing days of the campaign, Trump said he would let Kennedy “go wild” on the government’s health care systems.
“He’s going to help make America healthy again. … He wants to do some things, and we’re going to let him get to it,” Trump said in a victory speech at Mar-a-Lago after the election.