Trump follows through on campaign promise to tap RFK Jr. for head of health services
President-elect Donald Trump has made good on a campaign promise and is planning to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a cabinet position.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been nominated to serve as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, effectively the head of the country's public health department. Leading up to the election, Kennedy - who has made his own bid for the presidency - encouraged his followers to vote for Trump "if you want to see me in Washington, DC," saying he had been promised to be in charge of public health agencies.
Trump's transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick had publicly refuted the claim on CNN previously.
The role of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services is to advise the president about public health matters as well as respond to and declare public health and medical emergencies.
Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he was elated to announce Kennedy's cabinet nomination.
"Mr. Kennedy will restore these Agencies 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 president-elect said.
Kennedy thanked Trump on X for his bravery and guidance and emphasized his dedication to making the president-elect's dream of a healthy America a reality.
"We have a generational opportunity to bring together the greatest minds in science, medicine, industry, and government to put an end to the chronic disease epidemic," Kennedy said.
Who is RFK Jr.?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is part of the influential Massachusetts dynasty of the Kennedy family. He is the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, the U.S. attorney general who was assassinated in 1968 while he was campaigning for president, and the nephew of the 35th president, John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy followed in his father's footsteps and became a lawyer.
In the modern context, Kennedy, once a political rival to Trump and stood as an alternative to conservatives and independents, stumped for the now president-elect in the run-up to the election, suspending his presidential campaign in August of this year.
Other members of the Kennedy family called his endorsement a betrayal. All of the Kennedy family members who have held elected office, including John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, have done so as members of the Democratic party.
Kennedy has a reputation for being critical of vaccines and questioning the origin of the COVID-19 virus. He’s also spread unfounded claims about a link between childhood vaccines and autism, proposed the removal of fluoride from drinking water, and spoken about the potentially harmful impacts of food dyes.
In order to serve, however, the Senate will have to approve the former presidential candidate.
Elizabeth Warren on RFK Jr. as health secretary
There's already opposition. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said she has "a lot of questions" about his fitness to serve.
“Donald Trump’s appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. poses a danger to public health, scientific research, medicine, and health care coverage for millions of Americans," Warren said. "RFK Jr. wants to stop parents from protecting their babies from measles and his ideas would welcome the return of polio."
Emphasizing his lack of credibility, Warren said that Kennedy has a history of spreading unproven conspiracy theories.
"I will have a lot of questions about Mr. Kennedy’s fitness to serve as health secretary when he appears before the Finance Committee," Warren said.
Alyssa Goldberg contributed to the reporting of this story.
Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@gannett.com.