President-elect Donald Trump has selected vaccine skeptic and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his health secretary, continuing to shape his new administration.
Kennedy, widely recognized as RFK Jr., has a history of promoting health claims that scientists have repeatedly debunked.
If confirmed by the Senate, he will oversee a vast agency responsible for areas ranging from food safety to medical research and welfare programs.
The announcement was part of a series of nominations revealed on Thursday evening. Trump also announced his intention to nominate North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as interior secretary.
Burgum, a former businessman who competed against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, is set to be formally announced for the role on Friday.
Trump hinted at the decision during a speech at Mar-a-Lago—his first since election night—describing Burgum’s appointment as a “very big position” before ultimately revealing the news.
Other nominations announced on Thursday include:
- Former Georgia Congressman Doug Collins as secretary of veterans’ affairs.
- Todd Blanche, Trump’s defence lawyer in his “hush money” criminal trial, to serve as deputy attorney general.
- Dean John Sauer, who represented Trump in a US Supreme Court case earlier this year, as solicitor general. He will be charged with supervising and conducting government litigation in the Supreme Court.
- Jay Clayton, former chairperson of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as US attorney for the Southern District of New York, one of the most influential federal trial courts.
In a statement, Donald Trump expressed his enthusiasm, saying he was “thrilled to announce” Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as health secretary.
Speculation had been mounting that Trump would assign his former rival a prominent role in healthcare. During his election night victory party, Trump told supporters that Kennedy was eager to “help make America healthy again.”
“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 in his statement on Thursday.
“Mr Kennedy will restore these Agencies [Health and Human Services] 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!”
The nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., comes from a renowned Democratic political family as the son of U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated in the 1960s.
Now 70, the environmental lawyer entered the presidential race this year as an independent after initially running in the Democratic primary. He eventually suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump.
Kennedy is well-known for his criticism of childhood vaccines, stating in an interview last year, “I do believe that autism comes from vaccines.” However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which falls under the oversight of the U.S. health secretary, states that “many studies have looked at whether there is a relationship between vaccines and ASD [autism spectrum disorder]. To date, the studies continue to show that vaccines are not associated with ASD.”
Kennedy, who overcame a 14-year heroin addiction in his youth, has also expressed a desire to address America’s substance abuse crisis.
‘We’re now seeing an epidemic of addiction, alcoholism,” he told the Daily Mail last year. “But also just loneliness, despair, disassociation, alienation.”
Throughout his campaign, stories about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s personal life often overshadowed policy discussions.
Headlines lingered on his disclosure of a “brain worm” experience and a separate incident where he reportedly left a dead bear in New York’s Central Park.
The nomination has drawn swift criticism from Democrats, with Senator Patty Murray calling it “catastrophic” and labeling Kennedy a “fringe conspiracy theorist.”
Republican Senator Susan Collins acknowledged her concerns about some of Kennedy’s “alarming statements” but said she would still approach his confirmation with an open mind.
Since winning the election last week, Trump has been forming his cabinet. With Republicans projected to take control of the House, the GOP will govern both the White House and Congress. Notable picks include Marco Rubio for Secretary of State and former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence.
However, the choice of controversial Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has raised questions on Capitol Hill. Gaetz, a vocal Trump ally, is under House ethics investigation for alleged sexual misconduct, drug use, and misappropriation of campaign funds.
Senator Dick Durbin, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has called for the findings to be released, and moderate Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski remarked that Gaetz is “not a serious nomination for Attorney General.”
Additionally, Trump announced more about Elon Musk’s role in his administration, noting that Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency will issue a series of reports in the coming weeks aimed at streamlining government operations.