Robert F. Kennedy Jr, heir to one of America’s most famous political dynasties and vocal vaccine opponent, could take on healthcare policy in Trump’s new administration.

In his victory speech last night, Trump said Kennedy would be free to “make America healthy again”. He’s also on record as saying he would let the former presidential candidate “go wild” on vaccine and healthcare policy.

Kennedy has said that Trump promised him control over key healthcare bodies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Agriculture. That access could give him control over what vaccines are approved and whether Americans can use them.

Kennedy is an environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist and the son and nephew of two titans of Democratic politics: his father was senator Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncle was president John F. Kennedy. Both were assassinated during the turbulent 1960s.

Kennedy initially challenged Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2023 before deciding to run as an independent. In August, he abandoned his campaign, switched sides and backed Republican Trump.

Jeremy Levin, CEO of biotech company Ovid Therapeutics and former chairman of biotech lobby group BIO, said he would be alarmed if Kennedy was given oversight of vaccines, and that other executives had also expressed concern. “Vaccine denialism, which is a central plank of RFK’s, is perhaps as dangerous as anything you can imagine,” he said.

With Reuters