Donald Trump to Nominate Vaccine Activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Look at American Public Health

President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will nominate independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is the fulfillment of a promise made by Trump at a rally in New York’s Madison Square Garden in late October, where he said he would allow Kennedy to “take care of his life.”

Kennedy, a former Democrat and scion of a wealthy political family, rose to prominence as an environmental advocate and anti-vaccination activist. Around 2015, he joined the board of the non-profit Children’s Health Defense, which claims that conditions like autism and attention deficit disorder are caused by environmental factors, including harmful agents in vaccines. Kennedy has repeatedly spread misinformation about vaccines and in 2021 was named by the Center to Fight Digital Hate as one of the “twelve,” spreading false information about the Covid-19 pandemic on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

He suggested, in defiance of all reputable scientific research, that Covid-19 may have been “racially targeted” to save Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people and that HIV does not cause AIDS, and suggested that the mandate to vaccinate is worse than the Holocaust. In his 2012 book, he said the worm ate part of his brain and then he died.

Kennedy’s account was banned from Instagram in 2021 for spreading vaccine misinformation. His account was restored in 2023, when he announced his candidacy.

In August, Kennedy suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump, saying, “If President Trump is elected and lives up to his word, the enormous burden of chronic disease that burdens the country will disappear.” He introduced the same slogan as Trump’s MAGA—Make America Healthy Again (MAHA)—which focuses on “prioritizing regenerative agriculture, preserving natural habitats, and eliminating toxins from our food, water and air.”

HHS oversees 13 federal agencies—which Kennedy indicated he would eat—including the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control.

However, Kennedy’s position still depends on congressional approval. Previous HHS leaders have had multiple careers in the public health sector or within the department itself before serving as head. The Republican-controlled Senate could reject Trump, or it could point to Kennedy’s aggressive promotion of conspiracy theories, a long career as a staunch Democrat, and controversial positions on abortion as reasons to block him.

Although Kennedy has promised to overhaul the entire system, experts who spoke to WIRED say he is likely to come up with long-lasting laws that would be difficult to repeal. Health policies are also heavily influenced by advisory committees, full of health and public health experts, and it will take time to change the government’s recommendations.

Still, as director of HHS, Kennedy will have greater power to fire employees and declare public health emergencies.