Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent lawyer and vocal vaccine critic, has been confirmed as the United States’ new health secretary following a vote Thursday morning following a 52-48 vote by the U.S. Senate.
The role controls US$1.7 trillion in spending for vaccines, food safety and health insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid for roughly half the country’s population, not to mention medical research, public health outreach, hospital oversight and funding for community health care clinics.
Despite several Republicans expressing deep skepticism about his views on vaccines, Kennedy cruised to a confirmation win. Republican senators have largely embraced Kennedy’s vision, reciting his newly hatched slogan to “Make America Healthy Again” in speeches.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former majority leader and a polio survivor, was the sole Republican to vote against the confirmation. All Democrats opposed Kennedy.
Kennedy, 71, whose famous name and family tragedies have put him in the national spotlight since he was a child, has earned a formidable following with his populist — and sometimes extreme — views on food, chemicals and vaccines.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
The COVID-19 pandemic offered Kennedy a chance to grow his audience, when he devoted much of his time to a nonprofit that sued vaccine makers and harnessed social media campaigns to erode trust in vaccines as well as the government agencies that promote them.
During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy said he’d prioritize combatting chronic diseases, something he attributed to the result of additives in American food and environmental pollution. He said health agencies have spent too much time and money on infectious diseases, allowing chronic disease to grow.
With the backing of Republican President Donald Trump, Kennedy believes he is “uniquely positioned” to…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at : Politics…