US President-elect Donald Trump announced his choice of Robert Kennedy Jr. to become Secretary of Health in the United States.
Kennedy, an environmental activist who helped cast doubt on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, will have authority over state agencies responsible for public health and government-funded health insurance plans for more than 140 million people providing including the poor and those 65 or older with disabilities, and others, according to Reuters.
Kennedy criticized the US Food and Drug Administration, the agency that oversees nearly $3 trillion worth of drugs, food and tobacco products. In interviews and on social media, Kennedy accused agency employees of pandering to Big Pharma and Big Food.
Shares of vaccine makers, including Pfizer ( PFE.N ) and Moderna ( MRNA.O ), fell after news of Kennedy’s position and fell in after-hours trading as much as 2%, according to Reuters.
Trump said in a post on his platform account:XFood and drug companies have engaged in “deception and misinformation” about public health.
He said Kennedy Jr. would restore momentum to the tradition of action research with transparency, to end “the epidemic of chronic disease and make America good and healthy again.”
Trump emphasized that the Department of Health will play a major role in helping “ensure that everyone is protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that contributed to a major health crisis” in the United States.
Kennedy Jr., a figure prominent in the anti-vaccine movement that Trump promised to provide a “major role” in the health care sector, confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday, “I will not give vaccines to anybody any.”
He indicated that the Trump administration may propose removing fluoride, which US authorities say is beneficial for tooth and bone health, from public water supplies.
Trump wanted Kennedy to lead a large Cabinet agency that would oversee everything from drugs, vaccines and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid. He said before the election that he would give Kennedy free rein on health policy.
Kennedy Jr. promised Cleaned up the US Food and Drug Administration shortly before he was elected Secretary of Health. Any changes he wants to make will be opposed by the pharmaceutical industry, which pays many of the regulator’s bills.
“The FDA’s war on public health is about to end,” Kennedy wrote on X in late October. “If you work at the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Keep your records, and 2. Pack your bags.”
According to his biography on the Congressional website, Kennedy Jr. was born into a political family and is the nephew of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. Kennedy, son of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. Both of them lost their lives by bullets, because John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Kennedy in 1963, and Robert F. Kennedy Sr. in the middle of his 1968 presidential campaign.
Instead of entering politics immediately, Kennedy Jr. continued his family’s legacy of public service by devoting himself to environmental issues and children’s well-being. He is the founder and longtime president and advocate of the Waterkeeper Alliance – the world’s largest clean water advocacy group. He went on to found Children’s Health Defense, a grassroots membership organization where he served as president and chief litigation counsel in its campaign to address chronic childhood disease and toxic exposure.
“Planet Champion”
Time magazine called Kennedy a “Hero of the Planet” for leading the fight to restore the Hudson River. This achievement helped give rise to more than 300 water protection organizations around the world. Negotiated on behalf of environmentalists and users of the New York City watershed, the New York City Watershed Agreement is an international model in stakeholder engagement and sustainable development.
Kennedy has won legal victories in several high-profile environmental battles over the past four decades in Latin America, Canada and the United States. Recently, Kennedy was on the trial team in special effects against Monsanto in 2018, and against DuPont in 2019 in the pollution case that inspired the movie “Dark Waters. “
Kennedy is also an award-winning writer whose articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and others. His published books include two New York Times bestsellers: Crimes Against Nature (2005) and The Real Anthony Fauci (2021).
After graduating from Harvard, Kennedy Jr. studied at the London School of Economics and received a law degree from the University of Virginia Law School. He then enrolled at Pace University School of Law, which awarded him a master’s degree in environmental law. He served on the faculty of Pace University School of Law from 1986 to 2018.
Kennedy was born on January 17, 1954, in Washington, DC, the third of 11 children of the late Senator Robert Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy, who recently celebrated her 95th birthday.
Kennedy is married to Cheryl Hines, a famous actress. The couple has seven children, including six children from Kennedy from two previous marriages.
2024-11-15 15:10:00
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