Trump chooses Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his secretary of the Ministry of Health and Human Services

Trump announced the selection Thursday, confirming an earlier CNN report, saying he was thrilled to hand out the pick.

“The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play a major role in ensuring that everyone is protected from the harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and food additives that have contributed to the enormous health crisis in this country,” he said. said Trump in a post on X.

“Mr. Kennedy will restore the tradition of gold standard scientific research and beacons of transparency to these agencies to end the chronic disease epidemic and make America great and healthy again!”

Kennedy, who accepted the offer Thursday, is in Palm Beach, Florida, days after the election.

The move, which was first reported by Politico, is significant given that just days before the election, Trump’s transition co-chairman Howard Lutnick told CNN that Kennedy was “not going to get the HHS job.”

“He wouldn’t be in charge of HHS?” he was asked on “The Source with Kaitlan Collins.”

“No,” said Lutnick, “of course not.”

That response caused an internal upheaval in Trump’s orbit, with Trump making it clear to Kennedy that he would make the final decisions.

Kennedy has been one of the most prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists for years and has often spread false conspiracy theories about the safety and efficacy of vaccines.

Last year, he launched his own presidential bid — first as a Democratic challenger to President Joe Biden, then as an independent candidate — largely focused on reversing the “chronic disease epidemic.” He proposed a number of policies aimed at reviewing food safety and environmental guidelines, promoting holistic medicine, and restructuring public funding for vaccine research.

In the final days of Kennedy’s campaign, he met with Trump on several occasions, in which the two discussed the possibility of him endorsing Trump in exchange for a role in his administration. Kennedy suspended his campaign in August and endorsed Trump the same day.

In October, Trump teased Kennedy that he would oversee the public health portfolio while speaking at a rally in New York’s Madison Square Garden, telling the audience he would let Kennedy “go wild on health,” “go wild on food” and “go wild on medicine.” if he is re-elected.

Since Election Day, Kennedy has promised to take major steps to reshape the nation’s public health guidelines. Last week, Kennedy “immediately” began studying the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, but promised not to “take vaccines away from anyone.”

He also pledged to formally recommend that states and municipalities remove fluoride from public water.

Kennedy also noted significant employee turnover in public health agencies. He said in an interview with MSNBC that he would lay off workers in the “nutrition divisions” of the US Food and Drug Administration.

Speaking at a conference in Arizona on Saturday, Kennedy proposed replacing 600 officials at the National Institutes of Health with select staff.

In an interview with NPR News after the election, Kennedy outlined his areas of focus in the Trump administration.

“President Trump gave me three instructions,” Kennedy said.

“He wants corruption and infighting out of the regulatory agencies. He wants to return the agencies to the gold standard, empirically based, evidence-based, science and medicine they were once known for. And he wants to end the chronic disease epidemic with measurable effects on reducing chronic disease within two years. “