RFK Jr Will Go To War With Big Pharma, Big Food

WASHINGTON DC, (Reuters) – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vowed to purge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shortly before being chosen as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for health secretary.  But any changes he wants to make will come up against a pharmaceutical industry that pays much of the regulator’s bills.

Calling the drug industry “a crown jewel of the American economy,” the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the leading industry lobby group, said in a statement it wanted to work with the Trump administration to improve health for patients.

Kennedy, an environmental activist who has helped sow doubts about the safety and efficacy of vaccines, would have authority over the nation’s agencies responsible for public health, government-funded health insurance plans for more than 140 million including the poor, those 65 and older, and the disabled, medical research and more if confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Kennedy Jr is the nephew of 35th President of US, John F
Kennedy. He is the founder of the Waterkeeper Alliance — the world’s largest clean water advocacy group — and served as its longtime chairman and attorney.
Donald Trump in announcing the Kennedy nomination, posted, “the Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this country.
Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!”

Kennedy has been most vocal about the FDA, an agency that oversees nearly $3 trillion in medicines, food and tobacco products. In interviews and on social media, Kennedy has accused agency staff of doing the bidding of Big Pharma and Big Food.

 “FDA’s war on public health is about to end,” Kennedy wrote on X in late October. “If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags.”

Shares of vaccine makers including Pfizer Inc and Moderna fell after news of Kennedy’s appointment and were down in after-hours trading by as much as 2%.