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The idea of President-elect Donald Trump and a member of the Kennedy family being allies could have been hard to believe a few years ago.
But Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the scion of a storied Democratic family, has become a face of Trump’s Make America Great Again movement.
Kennedy endorsed Trump in August after ending his own presidential campaign.
Trump reciprocated, promising last fall he would let Kennedy “go wild” on health, food and medicine.
Trump later nominated Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees organizations such as the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“There’s no agency — literally no agency — that comes close to the everyday importance to all Americans than HHS,” said Georgetown University Professor of Global Law Lawrence Gostin.
Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, doesn’t have actual experience in health care but has been a prominent vaccine skeptic, promoting views debunked by most scientists.
If confirmed as HHS secretary, Kennedy would oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has an advisory committee that makes recommendations on vaccine safety and schedules.
"The committee’s decisions on vaccines guide whether vaccines are free under the Affordable Care Act, so that could be affected," Gostin said. “I do think he’s going to assign anti-vax loyalists at key positions at the CDC, and all in all, I can see particularly red states deciding that they’re not going to recommend vaccines, they’re not going to require them in schools.”
Kennedy also has said the Trump White House will advise municipalities against adding fluoride to drinking water. The CDC says fluoridation improves dental health.
And Kennedy vows to allow wider distribution of raw milk despite the health risks.
Although many Republicans embrace RFK Jr., some of his views don’t line up directly with the party, including his focus on the food supply and additives.
“If he does attack the food supply, it will be things that red states tend to eat a lot,” Gostin said. “They like a lot of beef, they like a lot of bacon, processed foods. And also, farmer and agriculture and food companies aren’t going to like a lot of things that he says he’s going to do.”
And although Democrats have expressed major concerns with Kennedy, his push to crack down on Big Pharma and the corporate influence over food could go over well with some in the party.
“I’ve long led the fight to address our nation’s nutrition crisis, get toxic chemicals out of our food, and make the farm safety net work for small farmers in New Jersey and across the country," Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said in a statement to Spectrum News. "I plan to continue my advocacy in the new Congress, and if the incoming administration is serious about making meaningful progress on these issues, then I look forward to working with them."
What may not go over well with Democrats, besides Kennedy’s concerns over vaccines, is that he has suggested clearing out entire departments at the FDA, including the agency’s food and nutrition center, which is responsible for preventing foodborne illness.
