- Donald Trump on Thursday tapped anti-vaccine activist and conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his secretary of health.
Washington, United States:
Donald Trump on Thursday tapped anti-vaccine activist and conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his secretary of health in the latest provocative nomination from the incoming Republican president.
At an event at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, Trump encouraged Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to bring forward his ideas, saying, “I think you’re going to do some unbelievable things.Trump also announced that his personal attorneys, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, would serve as deputy attorneys general. Trump previously expressed support for Kennedy’s health care reforms, saying they should “go wild” in changing the system.
Vaccine scepticism
If confirmed by the Senate, which is controlled by Trump’s Republican Party, 70-year-old Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would head the Health and Human Services Department, with a budget near $2 trillion. Trump praised Kennedy’s stance on issues like the “industrial food complex” and drug companies, echoing many of his views. However, Kennedy’s past promotion of medical conspiracy theories, including the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism and his statement that a parasitic worm “ate a portion” of his brain, could spark opposition to his nomination.
Energy
Trump has yet to select treasury and commerce chiefs, or an education secretary, whose department he wants to abolish.
“Rocky” star Stallone told the audience, which included ever-present Tesla CEO Elon Musk, that Trump was a “mythical character.”
Trump joked that he couldn’t get Musk out of his Mar-a-Lago resort.
“He likes this place, I can’t get him out of here,” he said. “I like having him here as well.
Personal lawyers
Trump’s recent nominations include Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman with ties to Assad and Putin, for director of national intelligence, and Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host with no management experience, for defense secretary. Trump aims to purge federal officials who opposed his right-wing agenda in his first term. His appointment of Rep. Matt Gaetz to lead the Justice Department could strengthen his position, as Gaetz is a staunch partisan. Trump also plans to nominate his attorney, John Sauer, as solicitor general to represent the US at the Supreme Court.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to go after a variety of political opponents.
