What to Know About RFK Jr., Trump’s Pick for Health Secretary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks in Phoenix on Aug. 23, 2024. Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could soon restore his family’s famous name to the highest halls of power in Washington.

On Nov. 14, President-elect Donald Trump announced on his social media accounts that he had selected Kennedy to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

If confirmed by the Senate, the position would give Kennedy leadership over 13 federal agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy, often referred to as RFK Jr., 70, is the son of an attorney general and the nephew of a president. He is the third child of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy.

He is also the nephew of longtime Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy. All were members of the Democratic Party.

Moreover, RFK Jr. is the grandson of Joe Kennedy, who held multiple positions in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, including chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 1934 to 1935.

Two of his relatives—Joe Kennedy III, a former Congressman from Massachusetts, and Caroline Kennedy—currently hold diplomatic roles. Joe Kennedy III is the U.S. envoy to Northern Ireland, while Caroline Kennedy is the U.S. ambassador to Australia.

A lawyer by trade, RFK Jr. is the founder, chairman of the board, and chief legal counsel for Children’s Health Defense (CHD).

The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that says it is dedicated to “ending childhood health epidemics by eliminating toxic exposure.”

Additionally, it runs an initiative called “Reform Pharma,” looking to “systematically identify and remove the corrupt mechanisms that the pharmaceutical industry has woven deep into our government, the media, and the health care system.”

According to the group’s website, CHD questions the role of vaccinations, pollutants, and “electromagnetic radiation and wireless” technology in children’s health.

RFK Jr. has written multiple books, including ones questioning the necessity of vaccination for children, a title criticizing Anthony Fauci, the former chief medical adviser to multiple presidents, and a book on the origins of COVID-19.

He was also a co-founder of the Waterkeeper Alliance. Waterkeeper is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to “clean, healthy, and abundant water for all people and the planet.”

In November 2020, Kennedy resigned from his position as president of the nonprofit. He had held that post for more than 20 years.

In a parting message, he said Waterkeeper was his “life’s work” and “proudest achievement.”

Today, the group says it is active in 47 countries and supports more than 300 different local Waterkeeper groups working to protect a cumulative 5.9 million square miles of waterways.

2024 Presidential Campaign

For more than a year, RFK Jr. ran an independent presidential campaign with the ambition of becoming the most significant challenge to America’s two-party system since Ross Perot’s 1992 run.

RFK Jr. began his campaign in April 2023 as a Democrat looking to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden.

In October 2023, he dropped out of the Democrat primary race and began to run as an independent.

While RFK Jr. did win ballot access in most states, he never gained enough traction in opinion polls to seriously threaten either the Democratic or Republican Party’s candidates.

Instead, both Democrats and Republicans accused Kennedy of running a spoiler campaign to divert votes away from their presidential tickets.

In August, RFK Jr. suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump.

Soon afterward, he began campaigning with the Republican candidate.

Make America Healthy Again

As a Trump ally, RFK Jr. took up the mantle of the candidate’s Make America Healthy Again campaign platform.

On the campaign trail, he promised to reform the agencies overseeing public health with a particular focus on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Formed in 1906, the FDA is charged with overseeing food safety and over-the-counter and pharmaceutical drugs.

Ahead of the election, RFK Jr. said the agency has been taken over by pharmaceutical and food corporations and no longer supports public health.

On Nov. 14, about two hours after Trump announced his selection, RFK Jr. said on his X account that he would “free the [HHS] agencies from the smothering cloud of corporate capture so they can pursue their mission to make Americans once again the healthiest people on Earth.”