Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s former staffers have mostly positive things to say about him, but they doubt he's up to the task of leading a federal agency.
Donald Trump nominated the environmental attorney to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which has a budget of more than $1 trillion and more than 80,000 employees, but Kennedy's former colleagues and staffers say that he would face a steep learning curve, reported Politico.
“He’s an inspirational leader who’s able to communicate, but he’s not a manager,” said Jeff Hutt, spokesperson for the Make America Healthy Again political action committee and Kennedy’s former national field director.
The political scion and failed independent presidential candidate, who's known as a vaccine skeptic and for holding other unconventional views on health and science, has held leadership roles as a lawyer and at nonprofit organizations, but staffers say he usually served more as the public face of those operations than an executive manager.
“I have no idea how he’s going to run a full department, if that’s how he ran the campaign,” said one former campaign staffer. “Running a court case and suing folks is a lot different than running a business. I think he’s a fantastic lawyer. I think he does his due diligence and understands law and truly wants to help all people.”
The core of Kennedy's campaign team was largely made up of a small circle of friends and family members, which sparked conflicts on the team and hindered fundraising operations, but former staffers praised his interpersonal skills.
“He is a very genuine person," said a former senior staffer. "He listens and he’s, you know, he likes to find the best answers available, and as he’s said publicly, you know, if you can show him where he’s wrong on something, he will change his mind.”
That staffer doesn't believe Kennedy will "purge" HHS of employees, like Trump and Elon Musk have proposed, but some former staffers say his good intentions and communication skills aren't enough to handle the job he'll have if the Senate confirms him.
“He’s going to need a good deputy,” Hutt said. “I don’t know who he has in mind, but I would hope that he would go outside of his campaign [staffers] for this position.”