Nomination of RFK Jr. reflects a broader shake-up in the politics of health

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During his first term in office, Donald Trump relaxed nutritional standards on school meals, undoing an Obama-era initiative to feed students with whole grains and fresh produce. He also put officials from the chemical industry in charge of environmental policymaking. Under his watch, food and drug regulators eased up on enforcement.

That was then.

Why We Wrote This

In past decades, U.S. health agencies could mostly count on bipartisan support. The pandemic turned many conservatives against public health experts – creating the opening that has resulted in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Cabinet nomination.

On Thursday, he nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat who ran as an independent presidential candidate, as secretary of Health and Human Services. The president-elect said that Mr. Kennedy, an outspoken critic of the U.S. agriculture, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, would “end the Chronic Disease epidemic” and “Make America Great and Healthy Again!”

Mr. Kennedy has promised to ban food additives, remove sodas from food stamp programs, and overhaul nutritional guidelines. He rails against the federal health agencies that he would oversee and vows to shrink and radically repurpose them – for example by redirecting research dollars to holistic and alternative cures.

He could face resistance in Senate confirmation hearings for his debunked claims about vaccines. But Mr. Trump appears to have his back in taking on what both men have framed as a “corrupt” medical and scientific bureaucracy.

During his first term in office, Donald Trump relaxed nutritional standards on school meals, undoing an Obama-era initiative to feed students with whole grains and fresh produce. He also put officials from the chemical industry in charge of environmental policymaking. Under his watch, food and drug regulators eased up on enforcement.

That was then.

Last week, Mr. Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat who ran as an independent presidential candidate, as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The president-elect said that Mr. Kennedy, an outspoken critic of the U.S. agriculture, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, would “end the Chronic Disease epidemic” and “Make America Great and Healthy Again!”

Why We Wrote This

In past decades, U.S. health agencies could mostly count on bipartisan support. The pandemic turned many conservatives against public health experts – creating the opening that has resulted in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Cabinet nomination.

Mr. Kennedy, a former environmental litigator and scion of the Kennedy dynasty, has promised to ban food additives, remove sodas from food stamp programs, and overhaul nutritional guidelines. He rails against the federal health agencies that he would oversee and promises to radically repurpose them – by redirecting funding for medical research into holistic and alternative cures, shifting the focus from infectious to chronic disease, and slashing workforces.

He’s among several Trump nominees who could face strong resistance in Senate confirmation hearings. His debunked claims about vaccines, which he has lately tried to downplay, are certain to be scrutinized in Congress. He has repeatedly spread falsehoods about vaccine safety, particularly for children. But Mr. Trump appears to have his back in taking on what both men have framed as a “corrupt” medical and scientific bureaucracy.

Mr. Kennedy’s ascension in Mr. Trump’s policy circle follows his decision in July to end his own White House run and campaign for the former president.

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