Donald Trump has recently appointed vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his new health secretary.
As per BBC, the announcement came amid a fresh wave of nominations on Thursday evening, with Trump also revealing his intention to nominate North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as interior secretary.
Kennedy had been campaigning as an independent presidential candidate but withdrew from the race and then endorsed Trump. In return, Trump vowed to give him a “big role.”
If his nomination is approved by the Senate, he will lead a major agency responsible for overseeing everything from food safety to medical research and welfare programs.
The news was announced by Trump on his social media account X (formerly Twitter).
Trump wrote, “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.”
The president-elect further wrote, “Mr Kennedy will restore these Agencies [Health and Human Services] to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!”
Kennedy, the nephew of former president John F. Kennedy has a history of spreading health information that scientists label as false.
Now, the department that Kennedy hopes to lead has more than 80,000 employees across the US.
