President-elect Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Human Services. Kennedy’s role will be to decide the priorities of the $48 billion HHS budget for research, and the agencies that approve drugs and make nutritional recommendations. Trump announced the news on Truth Social, saying Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist, and 70-year-old environmental lawyer, would “restore these Agencies to their traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research and beacons for Transparency to end the Chronic disease epidemic and to Make America great and healthy again!”
Trump wrote:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services in the United States. The industrial food industry and drug companies have misled, disinformed, and deceived Americans for too long regarding public health. HHS’s role is to ensure the safety and health of all Americans. This is the primary responsibility of any Administration. Mr. Kennedy restores these Agencies to their traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research and beacons for Transparency to end the Chronic disease epidemic and Make America Great Again!
It is not surprising that Kennedy has been appointed. Kennedy was mentioned at Trump’s victory rally:
“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 his victory speech. “Go have a good time, Bobby.”
Kennedy’s most well-known campaigns have been against vaccines. However, in recent years he has focused on food additives. His remarks on the day that he endorsed Donald Trump as the next president reflected this theme.
Kennedy’s confirmation will be “lit,” to use the language of the kids. Kennedy has promised to be a change agent who can break the cycle where HHS staff approve drugs and food additives before moving to the pharmaceutical or food processing industries, then returning to research and regulatory roles within HHS. There are billions and millions of dollars at stake. The opposition will be fierce.
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