Trump names RFK Jr. as Health Secretary, targets big pharma

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), signaling a shift in U.S. health policy with a pointed critique of pharmaceutical and food industry practices.

“I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services,” Trump declared in a statement Thursday. “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.”

Trump framed the choice as central to his administration’s goal of addressing a “national health crisis,” pledging that Kennedy’s leadership would confront what he described as public health threats from “harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives.”

The nomination, subject to Senate approval, is likely to face opposition from Democrats and public health advocates, particularly given Kennedy’s history of vaccine skepticism. However, Trump expressed confidence that a Republican-led Senate will back Kennedy’s appointment as part of his administration’s broader reform agenda.