Much of the media’s attention within the past 5 months has been focused on Trump and his administration. It’s important to look at who our president chooses to help lead the U.S and who he entrusts to guide the people he swore to help. A presidential cabinet consists of 16 positions, including the Vice President, the U.S Attorney General, Secretary of Press, and Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

After beginning his presidential campaign as the democrat elect,  RFK Jr. suspended his run, announcing that he would be backing Trump saying, “In my heart, I no longer believe that I have a realistic path of electoral victory in the face of this relentless, systematic censorship and media control.” In this address he confirmed communication between him and Trump, highlighting how while they disagreed on multiple topics, they could agree on the war in Ukraine, safety of children, and censorship. Kennedy also briefly mentioned a “possible role” he’d have for Trump. Almost 6 months later he’d become the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services as a part of Trump’s cabinet.

Biography

RFK Jr. was born January 17, 1954 to Robert Francis Kennedy, making him the nephew of JFK who was the 35th U.S president. His father was a U.S attorney general for his uncle and in 1965 became the senator of New York. RFK was assassinated during his 1968 presidential campaign. 

Following the death of his father, RFK Jr. battled with drug abuse which led to an arrest for possession of marijuana in 1970 at 16 years old and his expulsion from two different boarding schools. Despite this, Kennedy Jr. was accepted into Harvard University where he earned his bachelor’s in American history and literature. Around six years later he received a law degree from the University of Virginia. A year later he landed a job as an ADA in Manhattan, but this was short-lived as he failed the bar exam and was arrested for heroin possession following an overdose about a year later. Kennedy was sentenced to 2 months probation and community service. He passed the bar on his second attempt in 1985. 

Early Work

Two years after being admitted to the New York State Bar, he received his masters in environmental science. Previous to this, RFK Jr. worked with the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association, “a nonprofit organization devoted to cleaning up the Hudson River and taking legal action against government and corporate entities that have polluted it.” 12 years later he launched a “clean water advocacy group” called the Waterkeeper Alliance.

He’d spend the next two decades intensely advocating for pollution and civil rights, even getting arrested for trespassing while protesting the U.S Navy’s bomb testing in Puerto Rico and representing indigenous groups in lawsuits. 

RFK Jr. founded the Children’s Health Defense (CHD), a nonprofit advocacy group, in 2007. “Our mission is ending childhood health epidemics by eliminating toxic exposure. We will restore and protect the health of children by eliminating environmental exposures, holding responsible parties accountable, and establishing safeguards to prevent future harm of children’s health. Protecting Children. Exposing Harms. Seeking Justice.” Controversy began when Kennedy was “red-pilled by Mercury Moms.” During one of his tours around the country, he was approached by mothers of “vaccine- injured” children who were looking to spread awareness about the harms of vaccines and mercury in water sources. Previous to this, RFK Jr. had been one to support vaccines, even admitting that he had all of his 6 kids properly vaccinated. Laura Bono, one of the Mercury Moms, claimed that her son, Jackson, received a vaccine in 1990 as a child and believes that that was the cause of his autism. She now serves as Executive Vice President of the CHD and is a co-founder of the NAA (Nation Autism Association). The theory that autism is linked to vaccines has been disproved countless times by countless researchers, healthcare providers, and health organizations over the years. Kennedy remains strong in his aversion to vaccines, even in his new job as secretary of HHS.

False claims in the past 130 days

His very first interview as Secretary of Health and Human Services came almost a month into his role on Feb. 14 with Fox News reporter, Laura Ingraham. RFK Jr. rattled on with false statistics and harmful claims. He said that America “literally” has “the sickest population,” a gross exaggeration, considering that people live much healthier and longer in the U.S compared to most countries. He stated that seed oils in fast food products, such as “Big Macs” could be replaced with beef tallow, making it “good for people.” Beef tallow still has a very high saturated fat content and would definitely not be beneficial to people’s health. RFK Jr. also told Ingraham that the National Institute of Health (NIH) told “doctors and patients not to report injuries,” following the consumption of an abortion drug. The drug he’s believed to be referencing– because he did not specify in the interview exactly what abortion drug– is called Mifepristone and is regulated and approved by the FDA but simply has stricter reporting requirements compared to most prescription medicines. 

More recently, clips of RFK Jr. speaking at a press conference on April 16 of this year have taken the media by storm, earning him a lot of backlash. The point of the press conference was to discuss the recent reports made by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that show a rising prevalence of autism among 8-year-olds. He began on a tangent, falsely claiming that autistic kids would grow up to be adults who “will never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never use a toilet unassisted.” 

It’s important to understand that autism is a spectrum within another spectrum of neurodiversity. There is such a thing as high-functioning autism, where an individual is able to function in society without outside assistance, and while it might take extra effort, it’s very much possible. He goes on to say that “most cases now are severe. Twenty-five percent of the kids diagnosed with autism are nonverbal, non-toilet-trained, and have other stereotypical features.” This statistic is most likely referencing a 2023 CDC study that stated one-quarter of autism cases have severe limitations. However, his examples of those limitations do not align with the study’s. 

RFK Jr. had to face the Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions on Jan. 30. When he was asked if he believed there was a link to autism and vaccines, he refused to deny it. Instead, he cited a flawed study that suggests vaccines cause autism and when Kennedy was questioned on the countless other studies disproving this he replied by saying, “there are other studies out there.”

Conclusion

During the Trump administration’s budget request for 2026, in front of the House Appropriation Committee, Rep. Mark Pocan asked Kennedy a hypothetical question: “If you had a child today, would you vaccinate that child for measles?” RFK Jr.’s response was, “Probably for measles… you know, what I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant.” This is the man who ran an anti-vaccine organization for decades. Then he added, “I don’t think people should be taking advice- medical advice- from me.” From his own mouth, RFK Jr. tells the American people that they should not be listening to him and once again proves his lack of qualification for his role as Health Secretary. Moments later he stated, “I think what we’re going to try to do is to lay out the pros and cons, the risks and benefits, accurately as we understand them.” While it’s hard to disagree with this, the issue arises when the cons and risks mentioned are simply false. It’s crucial to research and find the basis in the information you consume in order to form your own opinion.

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