President-elect Trump has selected former independent presidential candidate RFK Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This nomination would undermine the agency’s work to safeguard public health and put people in danger, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
Below is a statement by Darya Minovi, senior analyst for the Center for Science and Democracy at UCS.
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a dangerous and irresponsible pick for the federal agency charged with protecting the health of the American people. RFK has an alarming track record of ignoring science and promoting false claims about public health. The American people deserve regulation of medicine, public health and social services that is based in data and fact. Ignoring experts in exchange for fringe conspiracy theories would put the lives of countless American people, especially children and other vulnerable populations, at risk.
“RFK is an environmental lawyer with no training in medicine or public health. If confirmed, he would oversee a department with 80,000 employees, including thousands of scientists and public health experts who get up every day and work to ensure Americans have access to safe food and medicine. RFK has pledged to fire many of those public servants, sidelining science and scientists and increasing the risks to everyday people.
"Confirming RFK as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services would be a reckless decision by senators, showing complete disregard for the health and welfare of the people they were elected to serve.”