President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist who dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Trump, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Donald Trump Jr. shared the news on X, and a source familiar confirmed it with NBC News.
During his presidential campaign, Kennedy developed a national profile for his criticism of the Covid vaccine and childhood immunizations. He has claimed that vaccines are tied to autism, despite evidence conveyed through studies over decades that have disproven such a claim.
The appointment of Kennedy, 70, to lead HHS ends days of speculation about what health role — if any — the former independent presidential candidate turned Trump advisor would play in the incoming administration.
Within HHS is a family of health agencies that includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Kennedy has claimed Trump “promised” him “control of the public health agencies."
Apart from the HHS role, Kennedy was said to be considered for a role of tackling obesity and diabetes in kids — known as “Operation Warp Speed for childhood chronic disease" — and Kennedy himself floated the idea of being a White House "health czar." It's unclear if any of those roles would give him the authority or influence that heading HHS could offer.
Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, is known for his misleading and false claims on vaccines, including repeated assertions that vaccines are linked to autism, even though for decades numerous studies across several countries have debunked the association. He also founded Children’s Health Defense, a leading anti-vaccine group.
Other people said to be considered for the role were Trump's former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and retired neurosurgeon, Ben Carson, and Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who once led the state's Department of Health and Hospitals.
If confirmed, Kennedy's role might spell a major shakeup for the federal health agencies, including the FDA, where Kennedy has threatened to eliminate entire departments and fire agency employees who wage "war on public health."
On Thursday, NBC News reported that some FDA staff were considering a quick exit should Kennedy be selected for a prominent health role.
Kennedy has also suggested that he would ban fluoride in drinking water as well as strip ultra-processed foods from Americans' diets.
In the first Trump administration, the president tapped former pharmaceutical executive Alex Azar to the top health agency role. Azar replaced the first Trump-appointed health secretary Tom Price, who resigned over his use of private jets for government business, costing U.S. taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollar.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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Get your shots while they still exist.
I'll pay the shot for my son in Wisconsin to take my three grandchildren to Canada to get their vaccinations. Let the American kids learn what an iron lung is and suffer enough sickness to reduce their learning and working abilities and lessen their life spans.
Hey man, you remember how we talked the other day about how your family is going to be fine and all this panic you see on internet forums like this is all nonsense?
This is another one of those times.
Your grandkids are going to get their shots. You don't need to worry.
Worst case, we'll have some whacko anti-vaxx Karens who choose not to immunize their kids. Most of them homeschool anyway, which is great, because who wants to put up with that bitch at the PTA meeting, so it all works out.
How many millions of people do you think that RFK Jr, in the next four years, will convince, due to his high government position in the field of health care, to stop believing that vaccines protect them and their kids ?
About as many as Rachel Levine convinced to get transgender surgery.
A new requirement for cabinet level appointments - You have to have promoted at least three publicly recognized conspiracy theories.
I'm curious who you think he should have appointed.
Someone who doesnt spread lies on health issues.
[✘]
You mean like boys can be girls and girls can be boys like the current assistant HHS director has pushed for four years?
"Girls will be boys and boys will be girls
It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world,"
Thanks Madness, for "Lola"
Welcome to America in the near future.
Well, if it was good enough for Franklin Deleno Roosevelt it's good enough for America's kids today. Even one of those in the iron lungs could be PotUS one day.
I think you might be getting a bit carried away here, buddy.
LOL. You think I'm extreme. I'm a novice in comparison to your PotUS to be.
Iron lungs? Yeah. Just a bit.
You think I'm exaggerating? There are members on this site who make me look like an amateur when it comes to exaggerating, especially when it's about something they've had absolutely no personal experience with.
C'mon man. Yeah. You know you are.
Sure. But you're not a dumbass, and I'm assuming you've not set some goal of mimicking their behavior.
Look, I realize it's got to be nerve wracking sitting there across the globe from people you would gladly give your life to protect and hearing all this hysteria. But it's mostly just that.... hysteria. The amount of insane, deranged, bullshit manifestations of mental illness you see on this site alone are exhausting.
Your son is no idiot. Your grandkids are going to be vaccinated, right along with 99% of the rest of the kids living in this country. Living in the US, they'll have access to more of the world's best medical care than they would anywhere in the world.
It's going to be fine.
I have to admit to you that I DO exaggerate somewhat, but on purpose hoping it would show others how ridiculous it IS to exaggerate. But, interestingly, I just read that requests on whether a person can change their vote have spiked, and I'm not surprised considering that a lot of people who have to live paycheck to paycheck are going to have to pay an average of $7,500 a year more for their necessities because of Trump's ridiculous tariffs, so just wait till the poorer people who voted for Trump find THAT out. AND I recall reading expert opinions previously that raising tariffs does almost nothing whatsoever to increase jobs for Americans. I know as well that America's farmers supported Trump, so I wonder how they are going to feel while China shifts its agricultural purchases to South America and elsewhere - it's already happening. Oh, I can't wait till his appointees take over, maybe a good investment these days would be to invest in companies that manufacture and sell tranquillizers. I don't think I was exaggerating much with what I've said here.
Fair point.
He's not even in office yet. There is not any way anyone can know what if any tariffs will be passed or what the net effect will be.
Of course not. But this is how American politics works. There is what you actually do, and then there is what you appear to do. You win votes with the latter.
AND
What you're forgetting is that although many Presidents before him made a promise to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem and declare Jerusalem to be Israel's capital, TRUMP IS THE ONLY ONE WHO KEPT THAT PROMISE. He's talked about tariffs as high as 100%.
He also talked about Mexico paying for a border wall. And a repeal and replacement of the ACA. And elimination of the federal deficit.
Yes, Trump is full of shit. But he will have the power of the presidency and that should concern everyone. Trump will make decisions and given he is a narcissistic buffoon, chances are excellent that he will make decisions that harm the USA.
Remember what he did in his first term in the handling of the pandemic. He spent months talking it down in order to (stupidly) keep the stock market high. He was the last person people should trust yet as PotUS what he says means something. This is not just Trump making a fool of himself with "Gettysburg, Wow!" or mock-blowing a microphone, these are serious matters that affect the lives of tens of millions of people.
He is now president elect and has already shown just how much a buffoon he will be in this term. Nominating Gaetz and Hegseth, for example, illustrate how easy it is for a PotUS to make decisions that can harm this nation. He now has four years to make critical national decisions with his unfit, aged mind.
Of course Trump will likely not accomplish initiatives that requires serious work — initiatives such as replacing the ACA or deporting all illegals. But he will make decisions and those decisions will, unlike his first term, be less likely to be tempered by rational, experienced adults and more likely to be praised by the sycophants with which he is surrounding himself. Just what this nation needs, an uber-powerful buffoon who thinks he is always the smartest guy in the room making unchallenged decisions supported by a sycophantic Congress and an accommodating SCotUS.
This is not the end of the world, but it is almost certainly going to be the worst presidency of any of our lives (and possibly in our nation's history) because almost all checks & balances are gone and we have a narcissistic buffoon in charge.
Why does it feel like I'm the only one who remembers that the power of the presidency is limited intentionally by the Constitution?
All presidents do. Our founding fathers knew that would happen, so they designed a country with
Are we going to remember everybody else's mistakes in handling the pandemic? Dr Fauci telling us all it was spread by spittle? The WHO telling us not to wear masks? Gov Cuomo infecting the nursing homes? Or do mistakes only matter when Trump makes them?
We've survived Biden doing that.
Thank you. That's the point.
There will probably be chaos, turmoil, constant bickering, liberals everywhere trying to tell us it's 1000 times worse than it is while Trump devotees pretending it's 1000 times better than it is.
But Andrew Jackson attempted genocide. Nixon hired burglars. LBJ was as big a narcissistic buffoon as Trump. Let's keep some perspective.
Hard to say. Maybe you somehow have convinced yourself that others do not know this. If so, you are artificially holding yourself to be smarter than others.
Or maybe you fail to recognize that the CotUS is only as good as the agents who hold true to it. Trump is surrounding himself with sycophants. The GOP has demonstrated much to my personal dismay that it will kowtow to Trump. The SCotUS has demonstrated, to my great surprise, that it will violate the spirit and indeed the letter of the CotUS in Trump's favor (Article 1 Section 3 Clause 7: "Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.").
Of course, human beings make mistakes. Vietnam, as an example. But my point (obviously) is that Trump is much more likely to make these bad decisions in comparison to the average PotUS. This is because Trump:
Trump is in a league of his own in terms of negatives ... he is demonstrably not the average PotUS.
Are we going to play the "but they did it too" game in a false equivalent feeble defense of Trump?
Then of course, by all means, let's dismiss Trump's demonstrated cognitive decline and ignore (beyond age and cognitive decline) that he is demonstrably unfit for office.
Your comments attempt to portray others as hysterical merely because they criticize Trump and do not hold your (seeming) view that it is not really a big deal that the president-elect of the USA is an irresponsible, vindictive, narcissistic buffoon.
The presidency is a big deal. It is the single most powerful office on the planet. The words of a president impact lives here and across the world. The actions of a president can shape world dynamics (for the worse is the concern). Normally we have had presidents who can be trusted. Even when we disagree with their policies, there was a legitimate trust that the individual in this office would carefully work with wise advisors and would at least try to make responsible decisions in consideration of the good of our nation and the world itself.
Trump as PotUS is a serious liability. To not recognize this is a fundamental failure of analysis akin to that of Neville Chamberlain (and no I am not comparing Trump to Hitler, I am referring to wishful thinking with serious consequences).
Gain some perspective. While we all today find attacks on the indigenous population to be horrific, Jackson was living in very different times with a very different culture. There is no comparing the modern mindset and circumstances with that of the early 19th century. Nixon, outside of his Watergate issues, made responsible decisions (and that is different from making flawless decisions). LBJ was a lightweight compared to Trump.
In my lifetime (and arguably our nation's history) there has not been a PotUS more unfit to serve than Trump. One can only hope he holds the record in perpetuity.
And my point (obviously) is that you grossly overestimate this.
Time will tell which of us is correct.
Well, Trump as president-elect has nominated Gaetz for AG and Hegseth for Secretary of Defense. He has also threatened the Senate to give him a free pass for recess appointments.
Given his demonstration of character after his election loss in 2020, it is hard to imagine that he has spontaneously grown responsible and will now try to serve the people as PotUS rather than serve himself (to 'rule').
I hope that your optimism proves correct. It is just that the facts on the table suggest otherwise.
Donald Trump has been mentally ill his entire life. But NOW at the age of 78 he is going to be miraculously cured, without any treatment whatsoever? People dont actually believe this, they just want rationalizations for supporting him.
That wasn't a promise for him to fulfill. He could promise that Biden was going to swim across the Atlantic but how the hell is Trump going to keep that promise?
It is amazing how quickly Democrats turned on Kennedy. He believed all this stuff in 2008 when he was a finalist for HHS under Obama. But now he's a nutter.
Perhaps he can bring the SG from Florida, Dr. Ladapo our vaccination rate for measles is at 90% and it requires 95% to have a wall against a pandemic.
If you want to see what a measles outbreak can do in recent history goggle Measles outbreak in Samoa.
I have mentioned a number of times on NT the measles outbreak on American Samoa which felled over 5,000 and killed over 80 with most being children under 6.
Seems old non scientist Mr. Kennedy was right in the middle of that shit show which he is now denying.