President-elect Trump has tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has a historical past of spreading conspiracies, together with about vaccines, to run the Division of Well being and Human Companies.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We’ll hear about Trump’s decide to run an company that impacts the well being of lots of of tens of millions of People – the Division of Well being and Human Companies.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The environmental advocate and vaccine skeptic RFK Jr., Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has claimed that he’ll drastically cut back the charges of persistent illness in simply two years. He has additionally, throughout this marketing campaign, unfold quite a lot of conspiracy theories, for instance, that Wi-Fi causes most cancers or that faculty shootings are linked to antidepressants.
MARTIN: Becoming a member of us to inform us extra about Kennedy’s background and what his affirmation may imply for the company is NPR well being coverage correspondent Selena Simmons-Duffin. Selena, good morning.
SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN, BYLINE: Morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So, clearly, many individuals have heard of Kennedy. He is a part of a really well-known democratic political household that features the previous president, John F. Kennedy. However inform us extra about him as a public determine.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Properly, most just lately, he ran for president as an impartial earlier than dropping out in August and endorsing Trump, who’s been enthusiastically utilizing his make America wholesome once more line. Kennedy is an legal professional. He went to Harvard within the ’70s and acquired his regulation diploma at UVA. He struggled with drug dependancy, and it was really an arrest for heroin possession within the ’80s that led to volunteering with the Pure Sources Protection Council to meet neighborhood service hours. That led to an entire profession in environmental advocacy. And round 20 years in the past, he acquired excited about vaccine conspiracy theories, particularly within the disproven hyperlink between vaccines and autism. That has been an enormous focus of his work and life since then.
MARTIN: OK, so what concerning the company he could be accountable for? Give us a tour of the Division of Well being and Human Companies.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: So HHS is gigantic. It is acquired one of many largest budgets within the federal authorities – $1.7 trillion. That is trillion with a T. That is concerning the GDP of Australia. And inside the HHS are quite a lot of well being companies. Medicare and Medicaid are underneath HHS, so is the Meals and Drug Administration, the Nationwide Institutes of Well being, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention. These are most likely the well being companies folks hear essentially the most about. However there are all these different companies, like one which runs neighborhood well being facilities throughout the nation. There’s one other for psychological well being. In all, HHS employs about 90,000 folks throughout these companies. Trump has promised to let Kennedy, quote, “go wild on well being and dramatically shake issues up.”
MARTIN: Do we’ve any concept of what Kennedy going wild on well being would possibly appear to be?
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Properly, he just lately mentioned he’d like to fireplace 600 NIH staff. He is talked rather a lot about rooting out corruption. A few of his concepts are fairly mainstream, like selling nutritious meals and addressing persistent illness. He mentioned he needs to ban prescription drug commercials. He rightly factors out that American life expectancy is absolutely fairly unhealthy and lags behind different rich international locations by rather a lot. However he has some views which are actually far out of the mainstream. We have talked about vaccine skepticism. Present CDC director Mandy Cohen wrote to NPR yesterday, quote, “I do not need to go backwards and see youngsters or adults endure or lose their lives to remind us that vaccines work, and so I am involved,” unquote. The thought of somebody who’s actively sowed misinformation about vaccines being accountable for the federal government’s scientific analysis and public well being companies actually horrifies lots of people in these fields.
MARTIN: This can be a Senate-confirmed place. Do we’ve a way of whether or not he may have the votes to be confirmed?
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Properly, we’ll must see. Some Republican senators have responded enthusiastically to his nomination. Others will not say but. Apparently, his marketing campaign web site says he helps abortion entry. He wrote, quote, “I am for alternative and medical freedom.” We’ll see how that place performs out amongst Republicans who’re desirous to curtail abortion entry federally as soon as they take energy in Washington.
MARTIN: That’s NPR’s Selena Simmons-Duffin. Selena, thanks.
SIMMONS-DUFFIN: You are welcome.
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