Trump chooses anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary

NEW YORK —  President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting him in charge of a massive agency that oversees drug, vaccine and food safety, medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid.

“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 said in a post on his social media site announcing the appointment. Kennedy, he said, would “Make America Great and Healthy Again!”

Kennedy, a former Democrat who ran as an independent in this year’s presidential race, abandoned his bid after striking a deal to give Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the administration.

He and Trump say they have since become good friends, with Kennedy frequently receiving loud applause at Trump’s rallies.

The appointment was first reported by Politico on Thursday.

A longtime vaccine skeptic, Kennedy is an attorney who has built a loyal following over several decades of people who admire his lawsuits against major pesticide and pharmaceutical companies. He has pushed for tighter regulations on the ingredients in foods.

With the Trump campaign, he worked to shore up support among young mothers in particular, with his message of making food more healthful in the U.S., promising to model regulations imposed in Europe. He named the effort “Make America Healthy Again.”

It remains unclear how that will square with Trump’s history of deregulation of big industries, including food. Trump pushed for fewer inspections of the meat industry, for example.

Kennedy’s stance on vaccines has also made him a controversial figure among many, raising questions about his ability to get confirmed, even in a Republican-controlled Senate. Kennedy has espoused misinformation about the safety of vaccines, including pushing a long-discredited theory that childhood vaccines cause autism.

He also has said he would recommend removing fluoride from drinking water. The addition of the material has been cited as leading to improved dental health.

The Department of Health and Human Services has more than 80,000 employees across the country. It includes the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Medicare and Medicaid programs and the National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine nonprofit group, Children’s Health Defense, has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them the Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

Colvin and Seitz write for the Associated Press and reported from New York and Washington, respectively.