By Deutsche Welle (World News) | Created at 2024-11-14 22:21:12 | Updated at 2024-11-23 01:02:35
1 week ago
President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday nominated longtime conspiracy theorist and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is popularly known as RFK Jr., to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy ran as an independent in this year's election. He dropped out in August and endorsed Trump in exchange for a role in the Republican's administration.
Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he was "thrilled" to nominate Kennedy.
"For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to public health," the president-elect wrote in announcing the selection.
In his statement, Trump said Kennedy will "Make America Great and Healthy Again!"
What do we know about RFK Jr.?
The scion of a famous Democratic dynasty, Kennedy made a name for himself as an environmental lawyer, successfully taking on big corporations like DuPont and Monsanto.
But over the past two decades, he's increasingly devoted his energy to promoting claims about vaccines that are at odds with the overwhelming consensus of scientists.
These include the disproven claim that childhood vaccines cause autism. He has also said that the Covid-19 vaccine is deadly.
Kennedy insists he is not anti-vaccine and claims he has never told the public to avoid vaccinations. But he has repeatedly made his opposition to vaccines clear.
More to follow...
dh/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)
