RFK Jr, vaccine critic turned U.S. health secretary, hints at overhaul

by Danny Kemp and Issam Ahmed

Newly confirmed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday accused U.S. institutions of "stealing the health of our children" and suggested they should meet the same fate as USAID, which President Donald Trump's administration is working to slash.

On his first day in office, RFK Jr. -- who has spent decades sowing distrust in vaccines and questioning basic scientific facts -- credited divine intervention for his rise to power and immediately fueled concerns that critical health agencies could soon come under attack.

At his White House swearing-in ceremony, following a 52-48 Senate confirmation vote largely along party lines, Kennedy grew emotional recalling his first visit to the Oval Office in 1962.

He also lavished praise on Trump, saying 20 years of prayers to solve chronic childhood diseases were answered when "God sent me President Trump," whom he called a "man on a white horse."

Kennedy argued that while USAID was founded by his uncle, slain president John F. Kennedy, with noble intentions, it has since become a "sinister propagator of totalitarianism."

He backed Trump's recent actions at the humanitarian agency, adding, "we want to do the same thing with the institutions that are stealing the health of our children."

Before the 2024 election, Kennedy vowed to blow up the "corrupt" Food and Drug Administration and called for cuts to the National Institutes of Health, accusing it of overemphasizing infectious diseases at the expense of chronic disease research.

- Environment crusader to anti-vaxxer -

RFK Jr. was once a celebrated environmental lawyer who sued Monsanto and accused climate-change deniers of being traitors.

But for the past two decades he has promoted conspiracy theories linking childhood vaccines to autism and even questioning whether germs cause disease.

During heated confirmation hearings, Democrats pointed to Kennedy's lucrative consulting fees from law firms suing pharmaceutical companies as conflicts of interest.

They also highlighted allegations of sexual misconduct and his claims that antidepressants fuel school shootings.

Yet it was his shift toward Republican positions -- particularly on abortion rights, which he once supported but has since signaled a willingness to restrict -- that won over conservatives wary of his liberal past.

Ultimately, only one Republican opposed him: former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a childhood polio survivor. Democrats were united in opposition.

"I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles," said 82-year-old McConnell.

Kennedy dismissed the criticism, claiming his views were mischaracterized and insisting he was simply advocating for "common sense" policies.

"Vaccines should be tested, they should be safe, everyone should have informed consent," he said.

Speaking later on Fox News, he sent mixed signals, stating, "I'm not going to take away anyone's vaccine," while also asserting, "We lack comprehensive safety studies on nearly all vaccines."

- Make America Healthy Again -

Kennedy found firmer footing with his "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) agenda -- a play on Trump's MAGA slogan -- emphasizing the need to tackle chronic disease by holding the food industry accountable.

"A lot of what I'm going to do is about radical transparency," he said on Fox, suggesting plans for more detailed labeling policies.

Kennedy launched an independent presidential bid in 2024, making headlines with bizarre revelations, including claims of recovering from a parasitic brain worm and once decapitating a dead whale.

Last year, 77 Nobel Prize winners signed an open letter opposing his nomination, while some of his harshest critics came from within his own family.

His cousin Caroline Kennedy, a former diplomat, accused him of being a "predator" who led younger relatives toward drug addiction.

"This is a disaster waiting to happen -- and it will happen," Paul Offit, a leading vaccine expert at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told AFP.

Democratic Senator Patty Murray warned that Kennedy could use his new power to undermine vaccines, including firing the advisory committee that sets insurance-covered immunizations.

© Agence France-Presse