How controversial is Trump’s pick of RFK Jr as US health secretary?

On Thursday, US President-elect Donald Trump nominated vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr to caput up nan country’s apical wellness agency, nan Department of Health and Human Services.

“I americium thrilled to denote Robert F Kennedy Jr arsenic nan United States Secretary of Health and Human Services [HHS],” Trump wrote connected Thursday connected his societal media platform, Truth Social.

Who is Robert F Kennedy Jr?

Kennedy, 70, besides known arsenic RFK Jr, is an biology lawyer and personnel of nan American governmental Kennedy family.

He is nan boy of precocious US legislator and lawyer wide Robert F Kennedy and nephew of John F Kennedy, who was US president betwixt 1961 and 1963, erstwhile he was assassinated.

He is known for having a neurological upset that affects his voice, and which US media has reported he blames connected a flu vaccine he received.

Kennedy ran for president successful this year’s election, initially arsenic a Democrat. After failing to unafraid a information from nan party, he ran for nan predetermination arsenic an independent. In precocious August, he dropped his statesmanlike bid altogether to propulsion his support down Trump instead.

Kennedy’s information arsenic caput of wellness and quality services successful nan adjacent Trump management does not travel arsenic a surprise. Even earlier his election, Trump, during his rallies, was touting Kennedy arsenic personification who “cares much astir quality beings, wellness and nan situation than anybody”.

The president-elect told a New York City rally connected October 27 that he would fto Kennedy “go wild” connected health, nutrient and medicines.

Kennedy has coined nan motto “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA).

What does nan US Department of Health and Human Services do?

The section oversees each national wellness matters successful nan US.

It oversees the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), nan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nan National Institutes of Health (NIH) and nan monolithic Medicare and Medicaid Services programmes, which supply wellness sum for those pinch constricted income, those aged 65 and older, and abnormal people.

Where does Kennedy guidelines connected wellness issues?

Kennedy has go taxable to contention owed to his stance connected respective issues. These include:

Vaccines

Kennedy has agelong been sceptical of vaccines. He is nan chair of nan nonprofit activistic group Children’s Health Defense, which mostly spreads antivaccine information.

He besides has tried to peddle nan conspiracy mentation that vaccines origin autism successful children. One lawsuit of this was during a 2005 question and reply pinch Joe Scarborough connected US news transmission MSNBC.

He repeated this mentation successful a 2023 section of nan Joe Rogan Experience podcast. The conception that vaccines origin autism has been disproven by myriad technological studies.

NBC News reported that Kennedy besides believes nan flu changeable caused him to create a uncommon neurological upset that affected his voice.

However, he denies being an “anti-vaxxer” and told NBC News a time aft Trump’s triumph that he will not “take distant anybody’s vaccines”.

Fluoride successful water

According to nan CDC website, astir communities successful nan US person a mini magnitude of fluoride added to pat h2o to forestall cavities and amended oral health. The fluoridation of h2o is simply a CDC recommendation.

On November 4, Kennedy rallied against fluoridation of h2o successful a societal media post. Trump said nan thought “sounds OK” to him.

“Fluoride is an business discarded associated pinch arthritis, bony fractures, bony cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease,” wrote Kennedy.

A  national reappraisal published by nan National Toxicology Program astatine nan National Institutes of Health (NIH) successful August concluded that higher levels of fluoride are indeed linked to lower IQ successful children.

In precocious September this year, US District Judge Edward Chen ordered nan Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to further modulate fluoridation of h2o since it could inhibit intelligence improvement successful children.

He cautioned that it is not definite whether nan existent magnitude of fluoride successful h2o is causing IQ nonaccomplishment successful children.

Scientific experts opportunity further investigation is needed to scope a sound conclusion connected this matter.

According to nan CDC, nary grounds has been recovered that fluoride tin impact different wellness aspects, specified arsenic causing commencement defects aliases cancer.

Food and Drug Administration

Kennedy has been astir captious of nan FDA, which oversees astir $3 trillion successful medicines, nutrient and baccy products. In interviews and connected societal media, Kennedy has accused agency unit of being motivated by firm interests and “doing nan bidding” of Big Pharma and Big Food, nan Reuters news agency reported.

In October this year, Kennedy wrote successful an X post: “If you activity for nan FDA and are portion of this corrupt system, I person 2 messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags.”

FDA’s warfare connected nationalist wellness is astir to end. This includes its fierce suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, earthy milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, cleanable foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything…

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) October 25, 2024

COVID-19

Kennedy opposed nan national lockdown that was imposed aft nan outbreak of COVID-19 successful nan US. The restrictions, which saw group confined to their homes and restricted successful who they could meet pinch successful person, were put successful spot to forestall nan microorganism from spreading.

He has besides promoted nan usage of hydroxychloroquine arsenic a cure for nan virus, which has been discredited arsenic an effective cure.

Additionally, successful July 2023, nan New York Post uploaded a video successful which Kennedy appeared to declare that nan microorganism had been designed to target group based connected their ethnicity. No grounds has ever been shown to support this theory.

“COVID-19 is targeted to onslaught Caucasians and Black people. The group who are astir immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese,” he tin beryllium heard saying successful nan video.

How are group reacting to Trump’s information of Kennedy?

While immoderate Republicans successful Congress, intimately aligned pinch Trump, welcomed nan nomination, galore opportunity they are apprehensive.

Bill Cassidy, Republican Louisiana senator, posted connected his X account, saying Kennedy “has championed issues for illustration patient foods and nan request for greater transparency successful our nationalist wellness infrastructure”, adding that he is looking guardant to learning astir Kennedy’s different argumentation positions.

Cassidy graduated pinch a aesculapian grade from Louisiana State University School of Medicine and worked arsenic a expert earlier entering politics.

.@RobertKennedyJr has championed issues for illustration patient foods and nan request for greater transparency successful our nationalist wellness infrastructure. I look guardant to learning much astir his different argumentation positions and really they will support a conservative, pro-American agenda.

— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) November 14, 2024

Republican Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson posted connected X: “[Kennedy is] a brilliant, courageous truth-teller whose unwavering committedness to transparency will make America a healthier nation.”

When Tommy Tuberville, Republican legislator from Alabama was asked if he would ballot to corroborate Kennedy’s appointment, Tuberville responded pinch “100 percent”. He posted connected his X relationship saying, “No 1 has done much to expose corruption successful large pharma and large food. Make America Healthy Again!” The Alabama legislator is besides a personnel of nan Senate Health Committee.

However, Republican Senator from Maine Susan Collins was quoted successful The New York Times arsenic saying, “I find immoderate of his statements to beryllium alarming, but I’ve ne'er moreover met pinch him aliases sat down pinch him aliases heard him speak astatine length.”

Democrats raised immoderate siren astir Kennedy’s nomination.

Ed Markey, Democratic legislator for Massachusetts quoted a news article of Kennedy’s information connected his X platform, alongside nan words, “Dangerous. Unqualified. Unserious.”

Dangerous. Unqualified. Unserious. https://t.co/jSwKkNrijC

— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) November 14, 2024

Washington Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat, besides quoted nan news connected X, saying nan assignment could “set America backmost successful position of nationalist health, reproductive rights, research, & more”. “This could not beryllium much dangerous,” she wrote.

This could not beryllium much dangerous. There's nary telling really acold an anti-vaxxer & fringe conspiracy theorist for illustration RFK Jr. could set America back in position of nationalist health, reproductive rights, research, & more. And nan consequences are not theoretical—they're life aliases decease issues. https://t.co/nE3Lw2oJRE

— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) November 14, 2024

“Putting personification successful complaint of immoderate nationalist wellness work who is simply a vaccine denier puts astatine consequence nan stableness of nan federation astatine large,” Jeremy Levin, CEO of biotech institution Ovid Therapeutics and a erstwhile president of biotech lobby group BIO told nan Reuters news agency successful October.

“Vaccine denialism, which is simply a cardinal plank of RFK’s, is possibly arsenic vulnerable arsenic thing arsenic you could imagine,” Levin said.

Shares of vaccine manufacturers including American multinational Pfizer and mRNA vaccine shaper Moderna fell by arsenic overmuch arsenic 2 percent pursuing nan news.