President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, giving the prominent vaccine skeptic oversight over U.S. food and healthcare organizations.
As health secretary, Kennedy would oversee a budget of nearly $2 billion and agencies including the Food and Drug Administration and the CMS, which is responsible for administering federal healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid. He would also oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has played a prominent role responding to food safety lapses — including an E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders — and the ongoing spread of bird flu, which made the jump from cows to humans earlier this year.
Kennedy has previously promised to overhaul the federal public health industry, and singled out the food sector for the “mass poisoning of American children” through food ingredients and additives. The former presidential candidate has also pushed to restrict the use of pesticides and eliminate “seed oils” in food, saying he’s prepared to reverse 80 years of farm policy that has promoted industrial agriculture and “factory farming.”
“FDA’s war on public health is about to end,” Kennedy wrote in October in a post on X.
Kennedy’s stance on food regulation could upend a traditional alliance between Republicans and the agricultural sector that has largely promoted deregulation. His stance on pesticides and genetically modified seeds is particularly concerning for some in the farming industry who say it could hamper innovation in the future.
“The reality of what is happening is extremely dangerous for farmers, for rural communities, and for American innovation,” Dana O’Brien, president of BioHarbor Strategies and former executive vice president for food and agriculture at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, wrote in an op-ed for Agri-Pulse prior to the election.
Most recently, Kennedy stated he wanted to replace seed oils with tallow oil and eliminate fluoride in the country’s water supply, a decision that would upend one of the nation’s largest public health initiatives. Over social media, Kennedy has also criticized what he calls an epidemic of “chronic disease,” including autism, obesity and diabetes.
Originally a candidate for president, Kennedy endorsed Trump after dropping out of the race in August. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to let Kennedy “go wild” on healthcare.
If confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy would succeed the Biden administration’s Secretary Xavier Becerra.