Elections, as the saying goes, have consequences, and that has never been more evident than what could come with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. being the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
“Well, America, I hope you like measles,” was the observation of CNN host Jake Tapper, referencing Kennedy’s status as a leading anti-vaxxer, which the incoming president, Donald Trump, is apparently OK with, given his campaign pledge to let Kennedy “go wild on medicines.”
“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,” Trump wrote in a statement on social media on Thursday announcing RFK Jr. as his pick to head up HHS.
“The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country,” Trump wrote.
CNN health expert Dr. Sanjay Gupta said of the Kennedy pick that “it’s not often that the entire medical and public health community is going to be in lockstep on something, but they’re pretty close on this in terms of their significant concerns, horror, even.”
“Somebody said to me today, I can’t think of any single individual who would be more damaging to public health than RFK,” Gupta said. “Keep in mind, I think if the reporting is correct and the job is the Secretary of Health and Human Services, that comprises the CDC, you know, we just got through this pandemic, comprises the FDA, comprises the NIH. He’s talked about wanting to basically strip funding for infectious diseases overall. Again, just coming out of this pandemic with concerns about other viruses and things out there.”
This is no doubt Trump exacting revenge on the public health establishment, which he blames for his failed 2020 re-election bid, during the worst of the COVID pandemic.
Trump, you may remember, repeatedly tried to minimize the impact of COVID, which would eventually kill more than 1.2 million Americans.
RFK Jr. has proposed slashing funding for the FDA in half, not explaining how that would improve public health, and he wants to fire more than 600 people from the NIH, again, not tying that to prioritizing public health.
It just seems vindictive, what Kennedy wants to do, and what Trump wants to allow him to do as the head of HHS.
If he is confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy will be able to dismantle decades of public health infrastructure; the return of infectious diseases like measles will be the least of our concerns.
“If RFK Jr. becomes Secretary of HHS, millions of American lives will be at risk. Full stop,” said Brad Woodhouse, the executive director of Protect Our Care, a Washington, D.C.,-based nonprofit focused on expanding healthcare choices for Americans. “The selection of Kennedy to lead HHS is a devastating choice for the health and well-being of the American people, especially children. The consequences of this nomination will touch nearly every household in the nation. Not only does he have a long history of pushing dangerous and outlandish anti-vaccine and other health-related conspiracy theories, but he will undoubtedly support MAGA efforts to increase health care costs and slash coverage by repealing the Affordable Care Act, slashing Medicaid and repealing measures to lower drug prices for seniors.”
Oh, yeah, don’t forget, in addition to wanting to put a science-denier in charge of HHS, Trump has pledged to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would put tens of millions of Americans at risk of losing their access to health insurance.
That would be a matter of getting what you voted for. Voters with family incomes under $50,000, those who benefit most from the ACA, gave Trump a majority of their votes in last week’s election, as did seniors, whose access to affordable prescription drugs is on the line.
It’s a cruel matter of political irony that it will be up to Democrats, the party soon to be out of power, to fight to preserve the ability of low-income and senior voters who cast their lots with Trump to have continued access to affordable healthcare.
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Chris Graham
