Late on November 14, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. He would succeed current HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra once President Joe Biden’s term ends in January.
Washington Post declared that “President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the sprawling agency responsible for managing health insurance for millions of Americans, approving drugs and medical supplies, regulating food and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. “Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, is Trump’s latest Cabinet pick who could face contentious Senate confirmation.”
AND CNBC’s Dan Mangan wrote Thursday that “if the Senate approves Kennedy, the former independent presidential candidate will head an expanding department responsible for the enormous health coverage programs of Medicare and Medicaid, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Disease Control and Prevention. “HHS spending and policy decisions have important effects on the U.S. health care system and related businesses.”
Managan noted that “Kennedy, 70, is the son of Robert F. Kennedy, the late United States attorney general and Democratic senator from New York who was assassinated in 1968 by a gunman in Los Angeles while running for president. He is the nephew of former President John Kennedy, assassinated in 1963. Trump said in October that, if elected, he would let Kennedy ‘go crazy with his health.’”
Trump wrote Thursday in a post on his Truth Social site that “I am delighted to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. For too long, Americans have been crushed by the food industrial complex and pharmaceutical companies that have engaged in deception and misinformation when it comes to public health. The safety and health of all Americans is the most important function of any administration, and HHS will play an important role in helping ensure that everyone is protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming health crisis in this country,” Trump added.
Mangan noted that “Kennedy told NBC News in a recent interview that Trump has said he wants Kennedy to ‘clean up corruption’ in federal health agencies, get those agencies back to science-based policies and ‘make America be healthy again.’ Kennedy said that ‘there are entire departments, like the FDA’s nutrition department, that have to go.’” Mangan also noted that “stock prices of vaccine makers fell Thursday on reports that Trump would pick Kennedy for the HHS job.”
Meanwhile, POLITICALMeridith McGraw and Chelsa Cirrruzzo wrote Thursday afternoon that “The choice, which will irritate many public health experts, comes after Trump promised to let Kennedy ‘go crazy’ with health and food policy in his administration after Kennedy abandoned his own presidential candidacy to support the now president-elect. . “It is also a sign of the openness Trump sees after winning a decisive election victory and Republicans winning a comfortable majority in the Senate.”
McGraw and Cirruzzo further wrote that “Kennedy, 70, may still face a steep slope toward confirmation after years of promoting debunked claims that vaccines cause autism, wrote a book accusing the former National Institutes of Health official, Anthony Fauci, of conspiring with technology mogul Bill Gates. and drug makers to sell Covid-19 vaccines and said regulatory officials are industry puppets who should be removed. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Kennedy will be treated like all other nominees,” they reported, quoting Sen. Cornyn as saying, “I don’t have any preconceived notions about it.” And they wrote: “When asked if vaccine positions could make confirmation difficult: ‘I’m sure it will come up.’”
They were able to reach out to House Minority Leader Hakeen Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who noted that, of course, “[I]It was up to the Senate to confirm or reject Kennedy, but he was skeptical that he was the right choice. ‘Is RFK Jr. the best qualified person in the United States of America to lead us forward as we deal with an enormous number of health challenges in this country? “The answer is clearly no,” Jeffries said.
Meanwhile, The New York TimesSheryl Gay Stolberg and Luke Broadwater wrote Late Thursday afternoon, “Mr. Kennedy’s resistance to public health measures, the adoption of alternative medicines and natural foods, and the spread of false information about vaccines (including that they cause autism) suggests that he would openly clash with the agencies he would oversee. By choosing Mr. Kennedy, who has no medical or public health degree, Mr. Trump is once again proposing the kind of provocative staffing decision that underscores his stated desire to break Washington norms.” They added: “Lawmakers on both sides were shocked and dismayed by Mr. Trump’s plan to nominate former Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general. Trump’s picks of Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and Army veteran who has no high-level command experience, such as defense secretary, and Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who switched parties when she came to endorse Trump, as director. of national intelligence, were also seen as unorthodox options.”
AND CNN’s Katilan Collins, Kristen Holmes and Aaron Pellish noted Thursday that, “if confirmed as the nation’s top public health official, Kennedy would oversee operations of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid. Although Trump has stopped seeking a full repeal of Obamacare, it remains to be seen whether he and his health officials will release a plan to improve the law, as Trump promised during the election campaign.
Additionally, they wrote, “Kennedy would also be involved in any changes Trump and congressional Republicans try to make to Medicaid, which provides health care coverage to low-income Americans. In Trump’s first term, the agency attempted to institute work requirements, which was largely blocked in the courts, and lawmakers unsuccessfully attempted to reduce funding for the program. The program, which covers nearly 72.5 million Americans, is expected to be a target in Trump’s second term, especially as the Republican Party seeks savings to offset the tax relief they hope to implement.
This is breaking news and will be updated as events require.
