Some lawmakers and public health leaders have criticized President-elect Trump's nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be secretary of health.
California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia called the choice “insane.”
“The appointment of RFK as Secretary of Health is absolutely insane,” he wrote to X. “He is a vaccine denier and a conspiracy theorist in a tinfoil hat. He will destroy our public health infrastructure and vaccine distribution system. This” will cost lives. ”
Garcia's office could not be reached for comment.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks before Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump speaks at a campaign event in Milwaukee on November 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Molly Gash)
In a statement posted on social media, Kennedy said he would work on a variety of issues if confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“Together, we will root out corruption, stop the revolving door between industry and government, and return our health agencies to the gold standard and rich tradition of evidence-based science. “We provide access to data so you can make informed choices for yourself and your family,” he wrote.
While Kennedy has expressed concerns about the effects of vaccines, he has become well known as a vaccine skeptic.
Madhukar Pai, dean of McGill University's School of Global Public Health in Montreal, Canada, said Kennedy's appointment was “the first since Andrew Wakefield,” referring to the British scientist who later published research linking vaccines and autism. , it could be the biggest setback for the global vaccination program. Withdrawn.
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Congressman Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) speaks during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, August 19, 2024. (Mandel Gunn/AFP via Getty Images)
Garcia, a former Long Beach mayor who served on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, previously described Kennedy as a threat to public health during a hearing.
“We would like to invite someone with no scientific or medical qualifications, someone who has falsely claimed for decades that vaccines cause autism and has made frankly outrageous statements about science and medicine. “The fact that they're considering it means this person is going to come. I think it would be a disgrace to dismantle the NIH (National Institutes of Health),” he said.
“As a nation, we should be very concerned that RFK Jr. is a vaccine denier and could be appointed as health secretary, even though he is doing great harm to the American people.”
Donna Shalala, the longest-serving HHS secretary, called Kennedy's nomination “shocking.”
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Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican presidential candidate former President Trump shake hands at a campaign rally in Glendale, Arizona, on August 23. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
“Kennedy is an unqualified, uninformed person. He is a danger to the health and well-being of all Americans,” she said.
Despite the backlash, Kennedy has supporters. Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) urged President Kennedy to make changes to HHS and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) noted that Kennedy champions issues such as healthy food and greater transparency in public health infrastructure.
“I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they support conservative and pro-American policies,” Cassidy wrote to X.
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Kennedy was considered as a cabinet candidate in 2008, when President-elect Barack Obama reportedly considered appointing him to head the Environmental Protection Agency.
