Kennedy, who has fervent critics on the right and the left… including most of his own family — is just the latest in a series of surprising Cabinet choices by Trump, all of which will likely face stiff resistance in the Senate. On Wednesday, Trump announced he would nominate former Rep. Matt Gaetz, a far-right loyalist facing a number of ethics allegations, as attorney general, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as attorney general. director of national intelligence.

A former scion of America’s most famous Democratic political family, Kennedy pursued a independent presidential campaign before giving up and supporting Trump and defending him across the country. Trump had long teased that Kennedy would play a leading role in shaping his administration’s health policy, repeatedly saying he would make him “go wild on health care” and even putting him in charge. “women’s health”.

Just weeks ago, senior Trump officials downplayed the role Kennedy might play in his administration. In an interview on CNN, financier Howard Lutnick, co-chair of the Trump transition, said flatly: “He’s not going to get a job for HHS.” »

After Trump’s victory, many believed Kennedy could be given a broader role as “health care czar” that would not require Senate confirmation. But by selecting him to lead HHS – which houses the Food and Drug Administration but also administers the massive Medicare and Medicaid programs – Trump has launched a controversial confirmation process that will examine Kennedy’s extreme views on some issues as well as his ambiguous positions on others. like abortion.

A former Democrat, Kennedy once supported abortion rights, but recently changed his tone; both parties attacked his position during the campaign. As HHS secretary, he would have immense influence over federal policy on reproductive rights.

Kennedy’s sometimes bizarre personal history could come up during his confirmation hearings. During the campaign alone, Kennedy admitted to dumping a dead bear cub in Central Park a decade ago and revealed that doctors once found a dead worm in its brain.

Many Republicans were quick to applaud Kennedy’s nomination, particularly Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has vocally opposed the push for COVID vaccines. “Finally, someone to detoxify the place after the (Anthony) Fauci era,” Paul posted on X. He used Kennedy’s abbreviated version of Trump’s slogan: “Make America Healthy Again!” »

Even some Democrats applauded the selection, like Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, who greeted Kennedy on X for “helping us defeat vaccine mandates” and praised his contradictory attitude toward the pharmaceutical industry and food industry conglomerates.

Indeed, Kennedy has received plaudits from some public health officials for his views on nutrition and his opposition to ultra-processed foods, which he says should be removed from school cafeterias. He advocates for a crackdown on food dyes that have been linked to cancer and wants to ban the use of food stamps to buy soda. But he also promoted some foods and drugs that the FDA had already warned against, like raw milk and hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug that some were using in hopes of preventing COVID infection.

While there may be a supportive audience for Kennedy’s emphasis on better nutrition and chronic disease, his long-standing opposition to vaccines of any kind has made him a failure for many Democrats and health experts public, not to mention its unsubstantiated claims that Wi-Fi can cause problems. cancer, that chemicals in water can cause people to identify as transgender, and that major media organizations are controlled by the CIA.

In recent months, Kennedy has insisted that he advocates for “vaccine choice” and is not “anti-vaccine”; In a recent interview with NBC, Kennedy said he would not have blocked approval of Covid vaccines if he had been head of the FDA, but said “there was no effort” to have the “best science” at the time.

Kennedy is also a vocal opponent of fluoride, a mineral added to drinking water since the 1940s to prevent tooth decay and keep bones strong.

Senator Ed Markey had a three word reaction on the news of Kennedy’s selection on X: “Dangerous. Without reservation. Not serious.

“It’s unclear to what extent a fringe conspiracy theorist like RFK Jr. could set America back on public health, reproductive rights, research and innovation, and much more,” he said. added Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, who serves in Washington. Senate Leadership.

In a recent interview with the GlobeAshish Jha, President Biden’s White House coronavirus response coordinator and dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, warned of the potential health impacts of Kennedy’s influence in a Trump administration.

“RFK Jr. is of course someone who has undermined vaccines and confidence in vaccines,” Jha said. “I also fear that if he is in a position of authority, if these people are in a position of power, they will cause real damage.”

Meanwhile, some Kennedy allies who worked with him on vaccine issues celebrated his potential. influence even before Trump made the announcement Thursday. They expect him to focus on efforts such as remove fluoride in water and potentially increased liability for vaccine manufacturers.

“The bully pulpit is going to be huge for President Trump and for Bobby Kennedy,” said Mary Holland, who heads Kennedy’s office. Children’s Health Defense organizationwho has spreading misleading anti-vaccine information — said shortly after last week’s elections.

Asked about vaccine mandates, Holland said: “I don’t think this administration is going to try to tell private industry what to do or not to do. I think what they’re going to try to do is make sure that people have adequate information and that there are appropriate remedies and appropriate accountability.

Medical and public health experts say side effects are serious vaccines are rare; the risk of contracting measles, for example, is much greater than the risk risk associated with measles vaccine.

Michael Sussman, a lawyer who worked with Kennedy on a lawsuit related to the vaccination mandate in New York, also said in a recent interview that he expects Kennedy to “focus significantly” on companies that make vaccines.

“I think he believes that huge profits are being made from these vaccines and that those who are pushing them have a vested interest in misrepresenting their harm,” Sussman said last week. “He is not going to eliminate vaccines,” but he will voice his “skepticism about pharmaceuticals” and his “desire to promote American health through better nutrition and better food production.”

Sussman, who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris for president and called Trump’s victory a “terrible result for the country,” nonetheless agreed with Kennedy on some issues.

“Bobby Kennedy believes that American culture does not make health a priority. And I think he’s right about that. I think he thinks our fixation on a certain number of interventions, medical interventions, is counterproductive,” Sussman said.

Kennedy promised that if he were appointed and empowered to a federal position, he would change federal agencies charged with overseeing public health, which he says have been corrupted by the pharmaceutical industry and other special interests. He suggested it could replace as many as 600 people at the National Institutes of Health, and entire sections, like the FDA’s nutrition department, “need to go.”

Months before dropping out of the presidential race and supporting Trump, Kennedy criticized Trump’s Cabinet choices in his first administration — and, perhaps, a glimpse into how he views those elite roles in administration.

“President Trump promised to drain the swamp and address the social downgrades and what the American middle class is going through,” he said in a wide-ranging interview with the Globe in July. “But when he got there, he brought (Steven) Mnuchin, a Goldman Sachs banker to the Treasury, a Verizon lobbyist to run the FCC, an oil lobbyist to run the Interior Department, a lobbyist pharmaceutical to run HHS and a coal lobbyist to run the EPA.

“This could be,” Kennedy said, “evidence of a simple lack of concentration or a tendency to simply trust other wealthy people.”

Globe staff Jason Laughlin, Jim Puzzanghera and James Pindell contributed to this report.

Sam Brodey can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him @sambrodey. Emma Platoff can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her @emmaplatoff. Adam Piore can be contacted at [email protected].