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President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Robert F Kennedy Jr, an environmental advocate and vaccine sceptic, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Mr Kennedy, who dropped his independent presidential campaign in August and endorsed Trump, has expressed his commitment to prioritising the fight against chronic diseases. His stance on vaccines, however, sets him apart from previous HHS leaders. Mr Kennedy has frequently challenged vaccine mandates.
"Kennedy will restore these agencies 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!" Trump said.
Who is Robert F Kennedy Jr?
Robert F Kennedy Jr. was born on January 17, 1954, in Washington, D.C. He is the third of eleven children of former US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy, and the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy. Both his father and uncle were assassinated in the 1960s.
He studied at Harvard University, attended the London School of Economics, and earned a law degree from the University of Virginia. Later, he completed a Master's Degree in Environmental Law from Pace University School of Law, where he co-founded the Environmental Litigation Clinic and served on the faculty for over 30 years.
In the 1980s, Mr Kennedy founded the Waterkeeper Alliance, an organisation focused on clean water advocacy, where he worked as chairman and attorney. His work to restore New York's Hudson River earned him the title "Hero for the Planet" from TIME Magazine and helped create over 300 similar Waterkeeper groups worldwide. He also played a key role in the New York City watershed agreement, now viewed as a global example of sustainable development.
Mr Kennedy founded Children's Health Defense to address their health issues and harmful exposures, serving as chairman and lead counsel. While claiming to support vaccine safety, he has also been found spreading false theories, such as vaccines causing autism and COVID-19 being targeted at specific ethnic groups. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr Kennedy was already leading campaigns against vaccines and collaborating with anti-vaccine groups. His organisation has also filed lawsuits against news outlets, accusing them of bias against anti-vaccine views. Studies show his Twitter account was a major source of vaccine misinformation. Mr Kennedy has also met with anti-vaccine activists and supported anti-vaccine literature, despite evidence that vaccines are safe and necessary for public health.
Some of Mr Kennedy's legal wins include cases against Monsanto in 2018 and DuPont in 2019 for contamination, which inspired the movie Dark Waters. He has also advocated for Indigenous groups in North and South America.
Mr Kennedy has authored several books, including bestsellers Crimes Against Nature (2005) and The Real Anthony Fauci (2021). He has also written children's books on American history and Saint Francis of Assisi.
Robert F Kennedy Jr is married to actress Cheryl Hines and has seven children from three marriages.