Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has warned against anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom President-elect Trump has nominated to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“Say goodbye to smiles and say hello to polio. That's what's on the horizon when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. becomes Secretary of Health and Human Services,” Warren said. I wrote it in a post on Friday. on social platform X with a video message.
“You know, it would be funny if it wasn't so scary,” the Massachusetts Democrat said in the video.
This post argues that President Trump's choice to promote Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, will allow him to interfere with key government agencies, amplify vaccine hesitancy, and support his preferred views. The move comes amid concerns among Democrats and public health experts that the move could directly fund government agencies for the purpose of doing so.
Mr. Kennedy put his independent bid for the White House on hold and endorsed Mr. Trump, but the president-elect suggested in a recent interview that the nominee for secretary of health would investigate the fallacy of the link between vaccines and autism. This has led to recent headlines.
One of Kennedy's more controversial ideas is to eliminate the use of fluoride, a natural substance used in drinking water since 1945, from “all” U.S. water systems.
He also claimed that this mineral is “linked” to a number of medical problems, but these problems are due to higher levels of fluoride than most experience when drinking water and brushing teeth. It has been linked to exposure to
Fluoride is widely considered one of the most important public health measures of the 20th century.
Kennedy, who became a key surrogate for the Trump campaign, said federal health regulators are “sock puppets” captive to industry special interests. He has promised to purge the entire Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to fight corruption.
In her post, Warren also took aim at Kennedy's opposition to vaccinations, claiming that Kennedy “wants to stop children from getting polio and measles shots.”
Kennedy founded and led the anti-vaccination group Children's Health Defense, but resigned ahead of the 2023 presidential election. Kennedy has previously said he believes the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal in vaccines causes neurological disorders, particularly autism, in children.
But in October, Kennedy wrote:Post to X“We will not take the vaccine away from anyone,” he said.
“I just want to make sure that every American knows the safety profile, risk profile and effectiveness of each vaccine. That's it,” he said.
