Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Official portrait, 2025
26th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
Assumed office
February 13, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyJim O'Neill
Preceded byXavier Becerra
Personal details
Born
Robert Francis Kennedy Jr.

(1954-01-17) January 17, 1954
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party
Spouse(s)
Emily Black
​
​
(m. 1982; div. 1994)​
Mary Richardson
​
​
(m. 1994; died 2012)​
​
(m. 2014)​
Children6
Parents
RelativesKennedy family
Education
Occupation
  • Environmental lawyer
  • Writer
  • Anti-vaccine activist

Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954) is an American politician, radio host, conspiracy theorist, activist, and attorney in environmental law. Kennedy Jr. has been the 26th and current United States Secretary of Health and Human Services since 2025 during the second Donald Trump administration. He hosted the radio program Ring of Fire. He is also a vaccine hesitancy activist, and as a result, he has supported disinformation about them.

Kennedy Jr. was an Independent candidate for President of the United States in the 2024 presidential election. He ran for the Democratic nomination against President Joe Biden before becoming an Independent. He ended his campaign in August 2024 to support former President Donald Trump's campaign.

In November 2024, President-elect Trump nominated Kennedy Jr. to serve as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in February 2025.

Early life

Kennedy was born on January 17, 1954 in Washington, D.C., and raised in Massachusetts and Virginia. He was the third of eleven children to Ethel Skakel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.[1] He is the nephew of John F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy. Kennedy studied at Harvard University, University of Virginia School of Law, and at Pace University School of Law.

Kennedy Jr. began his career as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan. In the mid-1980s, he joined two nonprofits focused on environmental protection.[2] His work at Riverkeeper created a long-term environmental legal standards. Kennedy won legal battles against large corporate polluters.

Kennedy Jr. became a professor of environmental law at Pace University School of Law in 1986.[3] In 1987, Kennedy founded Pace's Environmental Litigation Clinic. He was a supervising attorney and co-director there until 2018.[4] He founded the nonprofit environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance in 1999, serving as the president of its board until 2020.[5]

Environmental activism

In 2013, Kennedy helped the Chipewyan First Nation in fighting to protect their land from tar sands production.[6] In February 2013, while protesting the Keystone XL Pipeline Kennedy, along with his son, Conor, was arrested for blocking a thoroughfare in front of the White House during a protest.[7]

Anti-vaccination activism

Since 2005, Kennedy has supported anti-vaccine misinformation.[8] and public-health conspiracy theories,[9] including the false claim that vaccines cause autism.[10] Kennedy has said that he supports medical freedom and does not believe the government should be involved with public health matters. He has been criticized by medical experts for his views.[11][12]

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been a figure in COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in the United States.[13] Many of his false health claims have been against Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, and Joe Biden.

Kennedy Jr. has written books including The Real Anthony Fauci (2021) and A Letter to Liberals (2022).

2024 presidential campaign

Main article: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 2024 presidential campaign

In April 2023, Kennedy announced his plans to run for President of the United States, challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination in the 2024 election.[14] In October 2023, he withdrew from the Democratic nomination to run as an Independent.[15]

In August 2024, Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump.[16]

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (2025–present)

Nomination and confirmation hearings

On November 14, 2024, President-elect Trump nominated Kennedy Jr. to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services for his second administration.[17] In December 2024, more than 75 Nobel Laureates urged the U.S. Senate to vote against Kennedy Jr.'s nomination, saying he would "put the public's health in jeopardy".[18][19]

In January 2025, the Senate Committee on Finance and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) held hearings on Kennedy's nomination.[20][21] Senator Bernie Sanders, the ranking member of the HELP committee, was very critical of Kennedy during the committee hearing.[22]

On February 4, 2025, the Senate Committee on Finance voted 14–13 to forward Kennedy's nomination to a full Senate vote.[23] Of the two committees Kennedy spoke before, only the Senate Finance was to vote on his nomination.[24] On February 13, 2025, Kennedy was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the United States secretary of health and human services by a vote of 52 to 48, with former Senate Republican Conference leader Mitch McConnell being the only Republican to vote against him.[25]

Tenure

Kennedy Jr. was sworn into office on February 13, 2025 at the White House by Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch.[26] He is the first independent or third-party presidential candidate to become a cabinet member after running for president outside of the two major parties.[27] Minutes after Kennedy was sworn in, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14211, which ordered the creation of a "Make America Healthy Again Commission" to be chaired by Kennedy.[28][29] Its goals include investigating the causes of chronic childhood diseases and to find the threats caused by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight-loss drugs.[29]

The next morning, agencies including the CDC and NIH were informed that about 5,200 newly hired federal health workers were to be fired that day.[30]

In April 2025, Kennedy fired most of the staff of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, closing nearly all its departments.[31] In June 2025, Kennedy announced that he was removing all 17 members of the ACIP and replacing them with new members.[32]

Personal life

Kennedy was married to Emily Ruth Black from 1982 until they divorced in 1994. He was married to Mary Richardson from 1994 until her death in 2012. In 2014, he married actress Cheryl Hines. He has six children. Kennedy is a Roman Catholic.[33]

Kennedy began having short-and-long-term memory loss in 2010. In 2012, he said that his neurological issues were because of "a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died".[34] He also said that he had mercury poisoning from eating a lot of tuna fish.[34][35][36]

In July 2024, Vanity Fair reported that in the late 1990s, when he was in his 40s, Kennedy sexually harassed Eliza Cooney, a 23-year-old part-time babysitter for his children.[37] Kennedy Jr. called this story "garbage" and untrue.[37]

References

  1. ↑ Robert F. Kennedy Jr., The Huffington Post.
  2. ↑ Agee, J'nelle (March 18, 2017). "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Resigns from Riverkeeper". Spectrum News. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr". JW Howard Attorneys. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  4. ↑ Smith, Steve (April 29, 2015). "RFK Jr. to address College of Law graduates". Nebraska Today. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Resigns as Waterkeeper Alliance President". Waterkeeper Alliance. November 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  6. ↑ Weber, Bob (June 12, 2013). "Prominent U.S. Keystone critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to visit oilsands". Macleans. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  7. ↑ Spear, Stefanie (February 13, 2013). "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Bill McKibben, Michael Brune, Among Others Will Risk Arrest Today at White House to Stop Tar Sands, Keystone XL Pipeline". EcoWatch.
  8. ↑ Multiple sources:
  9. ↑ Multiple sources:
  10. ↑ Mnookin, Seth (January 11, 2017). "How Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Distorted Vaccine Science". Scientific American. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. For more than a decade, Kennedy has promoted anti-vaccine propaganda completely unconnected to reality.
  11. ↑ Lamas, Daniela (April 24, 2024). "Skepticism Is Healthy, but in Medicine, It Can Be Dangerous". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024.
  12. ↑ Kennedy, Robert F. Jr. (2021). The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5107-6680-8.
  13. ↑ Nagourney, Adam (February 26, 2022). "A Kennedy's Crusade Against Covid Vaccines Anguishes Family and Friends". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  14. ↑ Bradner, Eric; Wright, David (2023-04-05). "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. files paperwork to run for president as a Democrat". CNN.
  15. ↑ Gibson, Brittany; Zhang, Andrew (October 9, 2023). "RFK Jr. announces he will run as an independent candidate". Politico. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  16. ↑ Steinhauser, Paul (August 22, 2024). "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to endorse Trump for president, court filing shows". Fox News. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  17. ↑ Dorn, Sara (2024-11-14). "Trump Taps RFK Jr. As Secretary Of Health And Human Services: Here Are All The Conspiracies He's Promoted". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  18. ↑ "Read the Letter From Nobel Laureates Urging That Mr. Kennedy Not be Confirmed". The New York Times. December 9, 2024. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  19. ↑ Rosenbluth, Teddy (December 9, 2024). "Nobel Laureates Urge Senate to Turn Down Kennedy's Nomination". New York Times.
  20. ↑ "Hearing to consider the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., of California, to be Secretary of Health and Human Services | The United States Senate Committee on Finance". www.finance.senate.gov. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services | The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions". www.help.senate.gov. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  22. ↑ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Ruberg, Sara; Mandavilli, Apoorva (January 30, 2025). "Sanders and Kennedy Trade Barbs on Vaccines and Health Care". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  23. ↑ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (February 4, 2025). "RFK Jr.'s Nomination as Health Secretary Passes Committee Vote: Trump Administration Live Updates". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  24. ↑ Weaver, Al (February 4, 2025). "Gabbard, RFK Jr. face make-or-break moment after perilous hearings". The Hill. Retrieved February 4, 2025. Kennedy appeared for two confirmation hearings, but only the Finance Committee will vote on whether to advance him.
  25. ↑ Weixel, Nathaniel (February 13, 2025). "Senate confirms RFK Jr. as Health secretary; McConnell lone GOP dissenter". The Hill. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  26. ↑ Seitz, Amanda (February 13, 2025). "Vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is sworn in as Trump's health chief after a close Senate vote". Associated Press. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  27. ↑ Winger, Richard (February 13, 2025). "U.S. Senate Confirms Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for Cabinet". Ballot Access News. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  28. ↑ "RFK Jr. and Trump take aim at mental health meds. Here's what to know". The Seattle Times. February 19, 2025. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "Establishing the President's Make America Healthy Again Commission". The White House. February 13, 2025. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  30. ↑ Owermohle, Sarah; Lawrence, Lizzy; Branswell, Helen; Herper, Matthew (2025-02-14). "Trump administration to fire thousands at health agencies". STAT. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
  31. ↑ "Worker safety agency NIOSH lays off most remaining staff". CBS News. May 3, 2025. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
  32. ↑ Kekatos, Mary (2025-06-09). "RFK Jr. removes all 17 members of CDC's vaccine advisory committee". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2025-06-10. Retrieved 2025-06-10.
  33. ↑ "A natural devotion". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Pengelly, Martin (May 8, 2024). "Robert F Kennedy Jr says health issue caused by dead worm in his brain". The Guardian. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  35. ↑ Craig, Susanne (May 8, 2024). "R.F.K. Jr. Says Doctors Found a Dead Worm in His Brain". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  36. ↑ Nirappil, Fenit (May 8, 2024). "RFK Jr. revealed he had a parasitic brain worm. Here's what to know". Washington Post. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Wendling, Mike (July 2, 2024). "'I am not a church boy': RFK Jr responds to sex assault allegation". BBC News. Retrieved July 2, 2024.

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