Trump nominates RFK Jr. for HHS secretary

In a post on X, Trump said he was "thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services," adding that "for too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health."

Trump said that HHS "will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country" and that Kennedy "will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Hold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!"

In a post on X, Kennedy said, "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."

"Together we will clean up corruption, stop the revolving door between industry and government, and return our health agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science," Kennedy added. "I will provide Americans with transparency and access to all the data so they can make informed choices for themselves and their families."

During his own presidential bid, Kennedy garnered national attention for his criticism of the COVID-19 vaccines and childhood immunizations and has claimed that vaccines are tied to autism, despite evidence conveyed through various studies over the course of decades disproving the claim.

Before the election, Kennedy said in a post on X that one of his top priorities would be "to clean up" public health agencies, which he said, "have become sock puppets for the industries they're supposed to regulate."

"FDA's war on public health is about to end," including its "aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything else that advances human health and can't be patented by Pharma," Kennedy said.

Kennedy has also said he wants more than half of NIH's budget devoted to "preventive, alternative, and holistic approaches to health," and has suggested he would advise that fluoride be banned from drinking water and ultra-processed foods be stripped from Americans' diets.

Reaction

Kennedy's nomination has drawn criticism from current agency heads. Robert Califf, current FDA commissioner, said he was concerned about experts being broadly ignored.

"Not having experts, I think historically, in every society, has been a case for demise of that society," he said, adding that leadership above FDA rarely interferes with scientific decisions, but "it's totally within the law for the president or the HHS secretary to overrule the entire FDA."

Similarly, CDC Director Mandy Cohen expressed concerns about Kennedy being appointed to a high-level position, saying he would "have a lot of influence in things."

"Even without changing one regulation or one piece of guidance, the sharing of misinformation from a place of power is concerning," Cohen said.

It's possible Kennedy will face an uphill battle to Senate confirmation, Politico reports. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Kennedy will be treated like every other nominee. When asked if Kennedy's vaccine positions could make his confirmation difficult, Cornyn said, "I'm sure it will come up."

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she's found some of Kennedy's "statements to be alarming, but I've never even met with him or sat down with him or heard him speak at length. So I don't want to prejudge based just on press clippings that I have read."

However, others were enthusiastic about the nomination. When asked if he would vote to confirm Kennedy, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said "one hundred percent," adding that he was a fan of Kennedy because of the work he's done with food and vaccines. "More than anybody that I know of, he's had an open mind," Tuberville said.

The members of the MAHA movement who might join Kennedy

Alongside Kennedy, there have been a number of people within the MAHA movement who have gained notoriety, and some could potentially join Kennedy in the federal government if he's confirmed by the Senate.

Casey Means, for example, is rumored to be on the short list to lead FDA, according to the Washington Post, and is viewed as Kennedy's favorite for surgeon general, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Means is a former Stanford Medical School-trained doctor who dropped out of her residency to become a functional medicine doctor and start Levels, a health technology company. Means has gained a significant following on social media promoting a healthy diet as a form of disease prevention. This year, she published a self-help and diet book alongside her brother Calley Means, who co-founded the startup Truemed, which helps people with health savings and flexible spending accounts get reimbursed for wellness products like gym memberships and supplements.

Both Casey and Calley Means have espoused controversial views, with Calley Means saying that COVID-19 vaccine mandates for children are a "war crime" and Casey Means championing reliance on "divine gifts of intuition and heart intelligence" rather than "blindly 'trusting the science.'"

Casey Means, as well as Kennedy, have both stated they also want to end television drug advertisements.

Nicole Shanahan is also a major figure in the MAHA movement. Shanahan was Kennedy's vice presidential running mate during his campaign and since then, has become a vocal advocate for the MAHA movement, espousing skeptical views of vaccines and in-vitro fertilization.

Shanahan is a lawyer, tech entrepreneur, and founder of Bia-Echo, a private foundation, and has funded research into alternative therapies for fertility, such as sunlight exposure. Shanahan also sponsored a bipartisan summit on hunger, nutrition, and health before the White House's 2022 nutrition conference.

Other significant figure in the MAHA movement include:

• Vani Hari, who has over 2 million Instagram followers and a food blog about additives and chemicals. Hari has been vocal against companies like Kellogg's for including ingredients in foods in the United States that aren't allowed in other countries.
• Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who was a vocal critic of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, school closures, and transparency at CDC during the pandemic.
• Del Bigree, a television producer, former communications director for Kennedy's presidential campaign, and CEO of the MAHA Alliance super PAC. Bigtree created films for Kennedy's anti-vaccine advocacy group, Children's Health Defense, and founded the Informed Consent Action Network in 2016, which has sowed skepticism about vaccines and pharmaceutical interventions.
• Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.), who wrote an op-ed supporting many of Kennedy's health policies and argued the United States "must break the grip of the cronyism that feeds us poisoned foods and makes a quick buck off the 'cure.'"

Kennedy also launched a webpage called "Nominees for the People," which allows anyone to submit and vote on names to be considered for a variety of healthcare-related roles within the federal government.

Among the more popular names on the site include Simone Gold, founder of America's Frontline Doctors, a right-wing group of physicians who have spoken out against COVID-19 vaccines and protocols and recommended ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine as treatments for COVID-19. Alongside co-founding America's Frontline Doctors, Gold was also sentenced to two months in prison for illegally entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, following Trump's failed reelection bid.

Also among the most popular nominees on the site is Zen Honeycutt, founding executive director of the nonprofit Moms Across America, which focuses on environmental toxins. Honeycutt also promotes using certain diets to cure "food allergies, autism symptoms, and asthma" and has appeared in videos by Kennedy's anti-vaccine group. (Lovelace et al., NBC News, 11/14; McGraw/Cirruzzo, Politico, 11/14; Stolberg, New York Times, 11/14; Cueto, STAT+ [subscription required], 11/7; Peterson/Whyte, Wall Street Journal, 11/13; Jewett, New York Times, 11/14; Stolberg, New York Times, 11/13)

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