The possibility of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. becoming Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary if former President Trump wins has rankled Democrats and the public health community as he gains influence within the former president’s transition team.
Speculation about Kennedy’s future role has grown after Nicole Shanahan, who was Kennedy’s running mate before he suspended his campaign last month, said recently that he would do “an incredible job” at HHS should Trump win in November.
While the former president has not said what, if any, Cabinet position he would offer Kennedy, the prospect of the former independent candidate taking the reins of HHS is already drawing pushback from health experts critical of Kennedy’s anti-vaccine rhetoric.
“We can only hope that he will have no position in the administration, because someone who thinks like that, who just has these beliefs that are immutable no matter how much evidence is against them, is not the kind of person you want in a position of authority,” said Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Shanahan sparked talk of a possible HHS secretary role for Kennedy during a recent conversation on a podcast with nutrition entrepreneur Tom Bilyeu.
“It oversees a massive portfolio,” she told Bilyeu. “Bobby in a role like that would be excellent.”
“I’d love to see the state of science go uncensored,” Shanahan added.
Kennedy has long courted controversy for pushing the debunked theory that vaccines cause autism, a message championed and amplified by the nonprofit he founded, Children’s Health Defense. He has now broadened his focus to the increase of childhood chronic disease, something he also attributes to vaccinations.
As he looks to help Trump defeat Vice President Harris, Kennedy has been telling voters that the 45th president will “make America healthy again.” Before suspending his campaign, he was running ads on social media asking, “Is America sicker than it’s ever been?”
The Democrat-turned-independent has been lobbying Trump for a role in his possible next administration, and one ally of Kennedy said he would likely have a position that “impacts something in public health.”
“Bobby has the network of experts, lawyers and leaders ready to step up and do battle,” the ally said.
Trump said recently during a rally in Arizona that he would ask Kennedy to work on a panel that would investigate “the decades-long increase in chronic health problems, including autoimmune disorders, autism, obesity, infertility and many more.”
The former president’s comments come as Kennedy continues to draw scrutiny over his views on the public health sector. Kennedy has vowed to eliminate corporate corruption from public regulatory agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which he says are controlled by large corporate interests.
HHS oversees 13 separate agencies, and Kennedy has long argued they are in desperate need of reform.
In campaign speeches, news interviews, podcasts and other public forums, he has described wanting to gut the scientific agencies in charge of science and health policy, such as the NIH, FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He told NBC News last year that the agencies have become “sock puppets” for the industries they regulate, and he wants to replace the scientists and government officials with people who align with his views and aren’t burdened by conflicts of interest.
Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly said he would “not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or a mask mandate.” The Republican nominee’s campaign says he is only referring to school COVID-19 vaccine mandates, but that hasn’t eased fears that he could accelerate already worrying trends of declining child vaccination.
Every state, as well as Washington, D.C., requires children to get vaccinated against certain diseases before they start school, including measles, mumps, polio, tetanus, whooping cough and chickenpox. A plan to withhold federal funding would have widespread impact.
Brett Giroir, who served as assistant secretary for health during the Trump administration, said he never experienced pushback from the president on vaccines, even as he made increasing childhood HPV vaccination levels a priority, as well as COVID-19 shots.
Giroir also noted Trump “enthusiastically” signed an executive order focusing on modernizing influenza vaccines.
He suggested the former president has always wanted to hear a diversity of opinions, which is why he may be offering Kennedy a sympathetic ear.
Kennedy’s controversial stances around medicine, health and wellness made him a target for Democrats, who accused him of running a spoiler campaign to benefit Trump. Now that Kennedy has suspended his campaign and officially endorsed Trump, they’re sharpening the attacks.
“Four years after a generational pandemic shook our nation to its core, we have a presidential candidate attempting to play into those fears by suggesting he’ll select someone who will dismantle an agency pivotal to coordinating the science and distribution of the COVID vaccine that saved millions of lives,” said Michael Ceraso, a Democratic strategist and campaign veteran.
“Trump continues a message of fear-mongering instead of offering policy solutions grounded in reality,” he said. “It’s suffering now from RFK and Trump being front and center.”
Kennedy’s supporters see his positions as a necessary change in the health-industrial complex. They like how he questions narratives around certain chemicals and their impact on humans. Some in the environmental community also appreciate his criticism of toxins and pollutants.
Leading the health agency, some Kennedy sources say, is a natural fit, given where his personal interests have led him.
“No position will be easy, but I think he has the best experience for HHS,” a Kennedy ally said about his possible future.
During Trump’s first term, the president ran into difficulty getting some nominees confirmed. He could face opposition again, particularly if Democrats retain control of the Senate.
He could also face some pushback from his own party.
According to Project 2025, the conservative Heritage Foundation’s plan for what Trump could accomplish if elected again, Republicans want to restore HHS to “the department of life,” using a Christian-centric basis for governing.
There’s concern among Republicans that Trump would alienate the religious right by tapping Kennedy. Many are not interested in having a former Democrat chairing the department.
“There would be serious backlash from pro-life Republicans,” said Matt Wolking, who was deputy director of communications for Trump’s 2020 campaign.
Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said outside of his views, Kennedy’s lack of experience as an administrator should be immediately disqualifying.
Unlike others who came before him, he hasn’t had firsthand experience running large health systems or in the industry directly.
“He’s done none of that. He certainly has been a pretty effective environmental advocate and a lawyer, but from both the skill, expertise and training perspective, he’s not qualified,” Benjamin said.
Democrats, meanwhile, say Trump will pay for bringing Kennedy into the fold.
“Donald Trump now owns all of RFK Jr.’s baggage, including his dangerous public health stances that have cost children their lives,” Democratic National Committee spokesperson Matt Corridoni said in a statement.
“For anyone who had concerns about the first Trump administration being too extreme, RFK Jr. being anywhere near a second Trump term should terrify you.”