President-elect Donald Trump ‘s plan to appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to lead the Health and Human Services Department will put a prominent vaccine skeptic at the helm of the nation’s sprawling public health apparatus.
A scion of a famous Democratic dynasty, Kennedy made a name in his own right as an environmental attorney who successfully took on large corporations including DuPont and Monsanto.
But over the past two decades, he’s increasingly devoted his energy to promoting claims about vaccines that contradict the overwhelming consensus of scientists.
Trump would have Kennedy lead a massive Cabinet agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid. He said before the election he would give Kennedy free rein over health policy.
Here’s a look at Kennedy and the agency he’ll be tasked with leading:
