Trump Picks RFK Jr. as Health Secretary
The Facts
US Pres.-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he would nominate former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in his administration.
In a statement on Truth Social, Trump said Americans had "for too long" been "crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies," and that RFK Jr. would "restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research."
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Allowing RFK Jr. — one of the most persistent and influential vaccine deniers with a history of spreading health misinformation and medical conspiracy theories — to go wild with America's health and food policy will prove catastrophic. As Americans grapple with an enormous number of health challenges, RFK Jr., who is keen on appointing extremists and loyalists rather than experts and technocrats, isn't the best-qualified person to lead the US forward.
Republican narrative
RFK Jr. will do everything to make Americans the healthiest people on Earth again — remove the corrupt officials at the FDA and the CDC, stop the revolving door between Big Pharma and the government, and return federal health agencies to their rich tradition of evidence-based science. He isn't taking vaccines away from anyone, but he will surely fix America's substance abuse crisis, end the chronic disease epidemic, and protect the nation's children.
