Donald Trump confirmed this Thursday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. it will be Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS, for its acronym in English), during its next Government.
In a statement on social networks, the president-elect assured that “for too long, Americans have been crushed by the food industrial complex and pharmaceutical companies who have participated in the deceptionthe disinformation and the wrong information when This is about public health” but, during his mandate, “the safety and health of all Americans” will be “the most important role.”
Thus, Kennedy Jr. will work for “restore these agencies to the traditions of leading scientific research and the beacons of transparency, to end the chronic disease epidemic and make America great and healthy again,” he promised.
From his role, the former Democrat vaccine skepticwill be in charge of ensuring the safety of medications and inoculations, supervising food, and closely monitoring medical research and social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid, among others.
“President Trump has given me three instructions,” he said during an interview with NPR Newsafter the elections, and he slipped, like this, what will be the work agenda of his portfolio: “He wants end corruption and conflicts in regulatory agencies. He wants the agencies to return to medicine and science based on empirical evidence for which they were once famous. and wants end the chronic disease epidemic with measurable impacts on the reduction of chronic diseases within two years.”
Kennedy Jr. knew how to be a critic of the businessman – he even called him “a terrible human being” – and ran as an independent in the last elections but, due to the lack of popular support, he agreed to abandon his race and support that of the Republican in exchange. of his promise to give him a position in the field of health during his Government. Since then, the politicians have become increasingly close.
In recent months, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy focused his speech on his fight for making America’s food healthier -even imitating regulations in force in Europe-, insisted on his criticism of pharmaceutical and pesticide companiesand stood firm in his distrust of vaccinesabout which he promoted misinformation.
He also proposed eliminating fluoride from drinking water, although this addition leads to better dental health, he suggested the incorporation of holistic medicines and pledged to intervene and completely overhaul the country’s agricultural system and public health bureaucracy.
“Make America Healthier Again”, “There is nothing more profitable for a large part of the health system than a sick child” y “Public health agencies have become puppets of the industries they are supposed to regulate” were some of his slogans during the campaign.
Jerome Adams, who served as the top health authority during the first Trump administration, warned, however, that Kennedy Jr.’s arrival in office could have the opposite effect of what he promised.
“If RFK has significant influence on the next government, that could further erode people’s willingness to catch up on recommended vaccines. I’m worried the impact this could have on our nation’s health, on our nation’s economy, on our global security”he said during the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association.
