Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now answerable for the nation’s well being businesses. His plans to upend them might make Elon Musk’s budget-cutting spree look modest by comparability.
Kennedy gained Senate affirmation on Thursday even after vowing to take vitamin and well being applications in a radical new path, and regardless of his lengthy historical past of criticizing the security of scientifically confirmed vaccines.
“We’ll be certain our tax {dollars} assist wholesome meals. We’ll scrutinize the chemical components in our meals provide. We’ll take away the monetary conflicts of curiosity in our businesses,” he informed the Senate Finance Committee in describing his objectives. “We’ll create an sincere, unbiased, science-driven HHS, accountable to the president, to Congress, and to the American individuals.”
The Senate confirmed Kennedy in a 52-48 vote to guide the 80,000-employee Division of Well being and Human Companies. Solely former Republican Chief Mitch McConnell of Kentucky broke from the social gathering line, becoming a member of Democrats in opposition. A polio survivor, McConnell has criticized Kennedy’s anti-vaccine activism. Kennedy can be sworn in Thursday afternoon within the Oval Workplace, in response to two individuals granted anonymity to debate the planning — an indication of President Donald Trump’s private funding in putting in Kennedy because the nation’s prime well being official.
Republicans’ assent represents a serious shift for a celebration as soon as aligned with the well being care business and meals producers, each of which Kennedy plans to focus on.
Kennedy centered on attacking persistent illness by regulating meals components and chemical substances within the surroundings throughout his personal presidential run, earlier than he dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump. The problems will probably stay on the prime of his agenda, in response to two individuals aware of his inner discussions, who have been granted anonymity to talk freely.
Kennedy and his aides have spent the previous a number of days drawing up an inventory of actions that he’ll prioritize, the 2 individuals mentioned, although certainly one of them cautioned that his plans remained in flux simply 24 hours out from his affirmation amid debate over how shortly he ought to transfer to place his stamp on the administration’s well being agenda.
Kennedy laid out an aggressive plan even earlier than Trump named him to guide HHS, vowing an overhaul of HHS’ Meals and Drug Administration, which approves medicine and medical units, in a post to X in October. He mentioned it was “corrupt” and accused it of conspiring with pharmaceutical corporations to suppress cheap alternate options to high-cost medicine.
Kennedy has lengthy advocated banning direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertisements, his advisers mentioned, a politically well-liked but legally thorny coverage initiative that he is anticipated to pursue in some kind as well being secretary.
In November, Kennedy focused the Nationwide Institutes of Well being, which oversees billions in well being analysis grants to universities, saying he deliberate to purge hundreds of staff. Kennedy believes the company has overemphasized infectious illnesses and underemphasized persistent ones — a place that has alarmed public well being specialists frightened about his claims about vaccines. Kennedy published a book in 2021 portray then-NIH official Anthony Fauci as a servant of the pharmaceutical business.
Kennedy’s former colleagues within the anti-vaccine motion have continued to push for him to take expansive motion on vaccines, together with ramping up scrutiny of recent and present vaccines and overhauling the way in which the federal authorities recommends and talks about customary childhood immunizations.
Kennedy for years led an advocacy group that challenged scientific consensus that vaccines are secure, selling disproven theories that they trigger autism. Throughout his affirmation hearings, Kennedy refused to disavow what he’d mentioned however promised to maintain an open thoughts and never to remove anybody’s vaccines.
Others in his camp have urged Kennedy to stay to these vows to not undermine confidence in vaccines, a part of a broader dialing again of the aggressive rhetoric of his presidential marketing campaign. Nonetheless, Kennedy informed senators he thinks the U.S. well being care system is damaged as a result of it spends an excessive amount of cash and prioritizes the mistaken issues.
He’ll begin work at HHS a couple of weeks into the Trump administration that’s already moved to chop federal well being company workers, take down sure public well being data from federal web sites, and seize management of federal well being care knowledge with the assistance of Musk and DOGE, the fee Trump created by government order in January 2025.
Musk’s DOGE staffers are already at the HHS division that oversees Medicare, the well being insurer for aged individuals, and Medicaid, which covers these with low incomes. Mixed the 2 account for about $1.5 trillion in federal spending. Musk seeks to root out billions misplaced to fraud.
The vote to verify Kennedy was political theater of a uncommon type. Democrats voted in unison to reject Kennedy, the scion of a well-known Democratic household whose father and two uncles have been Democratic senators.
His anti-vaccine views and alliance with Trump have been extra vital, they mentioned.
“Persons are alarmed. My cellphone traces are ringing off the hook with constituents who perceive the stakes right here and need us to face up for science and for his or her well being and security,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) informed reporters Tuesday. “As a result of the well being secretary has actual energy over whether or not Individuals can get the essential data and care they want.”
Other than McConnell, their longtime chief, Republicans voted to verify Kennedy, placing apart reservations about his assist for meals and environmental regulation, his anti-vaccine claims and previous advocacy of abortion rights.
It mirrored their deference to Trump and want to carry Kennedy’s formidable “Make America Wholesome Once more” motion into the Republican coalition. Kennedy’s MAHA supporters crammed the Senate listening to rooms and jammed cellphone traces to wavering Republican senators.
Pharmaceutical, hospital, insurance coverage and medical doctors’ teams — Kennedy targets that have been beforehand regarded as practically all-powerful in Washington — have largely remained silent on his affirmation, believing they couldn’t have an effect on the result and fearing the backlash that might ensue in the event that they spoke out. Some teams are even working to recast their objectives in a MAHA-friendly mild.
However whereas MAHA’s backing and DOGE’s assist might propel Kennedy after he’s sworn in, his lack of managerial expertise and lack of familiarity with the intricacies of HHS’ numerous applications might restrict his attain.
A former senior Trump HHS official, granted anonymity to talk frankly, informed POLITICO Kennedy’s affect will come all the way down to his circle.
“Personnel is coverage. That is extremely true of the Trump administration,” the official mentioned. Kennedy, the individual mentioned, might want to depend on individuals with institutional data to make the modifications he needs to make — inside the relevant constructs to keep away from judicial challenges.
Already, federal judges have hit the pause button on the Trump administration’s plans to chop well being analysis grants and to supply lots of of hundreds of federal staff early resignations. A federal decide additionally ordered the White Home to revive webpages of public well being businesses that Trump officers had taken down.
“He’s going to wish to depend on individuals who do perceive how he might efficiently be a disruptor,” the previous official mentioned. “You have bought a variety of disruptors, however there could also be methods to take action quicker and extra efficiently than others.”
