Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may be poised to play a key health role in the next administration if Donald Trump is re-elected, according to two people close to the campaign and familiar with the plans.
The current thinking is that the former independent candidate’s role will be to lead what one person described as “Operation Warp Speed for pediatric chronic disease,” a reference to the title of the Covid vaccine development project during Trump’s first term.
Kennedy is known for his criticism and skepticism of the Covid vaccine and other immunizations.
For example, Kennedy repeatedly claimed that vaccines are linked to autism, although over decades numerous studies in many countries have revealed this link. Concerns about a possible link between autism and the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine persisted for years after a now-retracted research paper in 1998 claimed a link.
A person familiar with the plans said that there is great common ground between the Trump and Kennedy campaigns on preventing diseases such as obesity and diabetes in children, stressing that the plans are still fluid and nothing has been decided.
Obesity and diabetes are major issues in the United States. Obesity affects approximately 15 million children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Thousands of children and teens suffer from type 2 diabetes, a condition linked to obesity, and the numbers are growing. During the election campaign, both Trump and Kennedy promoted the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.
Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who has been an outspoken critic of Kennedy, said that despite the mistakes, “Operation Warp Speed” during Trump’s tenure was the administration’s “single greatest accomplishment.”
However, he wasn’t sure how Warp Speed would apply to childhood chronic diseases — or in what way Kennedy would be useful.
“I think his denial of science makes him the wrong person to make any kind of progress,” Offit said.
In an interview on Wednesday, Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared the project to President John. Pledge F. Kennedy put his foot on the moon.
“He didn’t know how it would go but he thought it was possible and he made it happen,” Redfield told NBC News. “Sometimes, seeing what is possible and being a leader and leading the nation to action can make things that many people think are not possible become reality.”
In a statement, Trump campaign spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt also confirmed that there are still “no formal decisions” on positions in the potential administration, but Trump “said he will work alongside passionate voices like RFK Jr. to make America healthy again by… Providing families with safe food and ending the epidemic of chronic diseases that our children suffer from,” he said, referring to type 2 diabetes.
“President Trump will also create a special presidential commission of independent minds and task it with investigating the cause of the decades-long increase in chronic disease,” she added.
At a rally in Nevada on Thursday evening with Kennedy, Trump said Kennedy “will work on health and women’s health.” He said he told Kennedy he wanted him to “look at the food in the food supply and what we put on the food.”
Trump added: “He can do anything he wants.”
For his part, Kennedy said that Trump asked him to “end the epidemic of chronic diseases.”
“And he doesn’t want me to take vaccines away from people,” Kennedy said. “If you want to take a vaccine, you should be able to take it. We believe in freedom of choice in this country, but you should know the risks and benefits of whatever you take.”
Kennedy recently claimed that Trump promised him “control of public health agencies,” including the Department of Health and Human Services and its subsidiary agencies — the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. Kennedy claimed that he would be appointed to the Department of Agriculture as well, “which, you know, is the key to making America healthy.”
That’s not outside the norm, according to one person familiar with the planning. If the plan goes ahead, Kennedy’s mandate would turn into a “comprehensive government enterprise” and allow him to marshal resources from all these agencies to treat chronic diseases in children. It is unclear how the project will be funded, although “Operation Warp Speed” — which ran between May 2020 and February 2021 — had a budget of up to $18 billion to develop Covid vaccines, funded by the private sector and US taxpayers. .
In a statement to NBC News, Kennedy said he was grateful to the former president “for his commitment to ending the epidemic of chronic disease that now affects 50% of our children.”
“I stand ready to help him rid public health agencies of their pervasive conflicts and corruption and restore their tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science,” he said.
Kennedy might also be interested in heading an agency like HHS or the CDC, but that would require Senate confirmation, which could be an uphill battle depending on the partisan breakdown in the chamber after Election Day.
Kennedy’s anti-vaccine views and other controversial past positions could pose a problem there, said Drew Altman, CEO of KFF, a nonpartisan group that researches health policy issues.
“I’m sure they would like to avoid a show in the Senate and an ugly confirmation process,” he said.
What remains to be determined, Altman said, is how much authority — if any — Kennedy’s Warp Speed role will give command agencies like the FDA or CDC. This role will be appointed by the president and will not require congressional approval, the source said. Altman was skeptical.
“It allows them to give him a position, a position they promised him, as a reward for the number of votes they got from welcoming him into the fold but without any real power or authority of a major agency or department,” Altman said.
Kennedy has already begun to recognize public health leaders from Trump world. This includes former Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Eric Hargan and former CDC Director Robert Redfield — an unlikely alliance given that Kennedy attacked Redfield several times in his book.
Redfield, a former HIV researcher, headed the CDC during the early days of the pandemic and was often criticized for mistakes, including controversial Covid testing guidelines.
Howard Lutnick, co-chair of Trump’s transition, also praised Kennedy in an interview with CNN on Wednesday night, questioning whether vaccines are actually safe.
Kennedy is also making the rounds with state agriculture leaders like Sidney Miller of Texas, since food will be a main focus of this potential mission. Popular Kennedy ally Russell Brand also participated in some of the meetings and conversations, according to one source. Brand, a comedian turned health influencer, has been accused of sexual assault by four women, accusations he has denied. Addiction and how it affects children and families is expected to be another top priority, a pet issue for Brand who is in recovery himself.
