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President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who spreads medical disinformation and conspiracy theories, to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) alarmed public health experts who say that Kennedy’s potential confirmation could have dire consequences for the state of health and science in America.
“I can’t think of a darker day for public health and science itself than the election of Donald Trump and the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health,” says Lawrence Gostin, director of Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law.
“To say that RFK Jr. is unqualified is a considerable understatement,” he continues. “The minimum qualification for being the head of the Department of Health and Human Services is fidelity to science and scientific evidence, and he spent his entire career fomenting distrust in public health and undermining science at every step of the way.”
If confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy would have sway over health agencies like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that fall under the purview of HHS. Kennedy, who endorsed Trump in the 2024 election after ending his own longshot presidential campaign as an independent, has promoted a plan to “Make America Healthy Again,” which includes goals like reversing “an epidemic of chronic disease,” banning certain food additives and chemicals, and cleaning up “toxic chemicals from our air, water, and soil.”
But Kennedy, 70, has faced blowback for spreading medical disinformation. He has falsely claimed that vaccines cause autism, which has been debunked by years of scientific research proving vaccines are safe and effective. He’s claimed that adding fluoride to the water supply—a safe and long-standing practice that protects oral health—is linked to IQ loss, bone cancer, and more, and has said he…
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