Liz Mantush | staff writer

With no prior medical background, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is unfit to head the Department of Health and Human Services. His appointment into office raises the question: Can we trust that our government is giving us correct and founded information?

It’s no secret that the Kennedy name carries with it the weight of four generations of politicians. The son of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, RFK Jr. continues to carry the family’s name in the political world, but does he bring the legacy with him?

RFK Jr. began his career in health as a founder of Children’s Health Defense, an organization whose purpose is “ending childhood health epidemics by eliminating toxic exposure,” according to the organization’s website. The CHD traces childhood chronic disease to toxic exposure transmitted by
vaccinations.

Additionally he founded the Waterkeeper Alliance, an organization focused on giving clean water to communities all over the world, according to the Waterkeeper Alliance website.
During his time as president and attorney for the organization, he fought polluters and companies through legal battles for better environmental regulations.

RFK Jr. has also written multiple books around the concept of vaccinations and environmental conservation including: “The Real Anthony Fauci” and “A Letter to Liberals: Censorship and COVID: An Attack on Science and American Ideals.”

In 2023, RFK Jr. announced he would run as the Democratic candidate for president of the United States according to CNN. He then pivoted and ran as an independent, a few months later, according to PBS, before finally dropping out of the race and endorsing President Donald Trump.

In the same span of time, he introduced his “Make America Healthy Again” campaign, first with his health-centered messaging in his own presidential run before partnering with the Trump administration.

He now serves as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services under Trump. RFK Jr. received not a single Democratic vote for his cabinet nomination, according to CNN.

In Trump’s most recent news conference, he announced that the Food and Drug Administration would begin the process of updating drug labels to discourage pregnant women from using medications containing acetaminophen, an active ingredient used in many over-the- counter medicines. Drugs including DayQuil, Mucinex, Excedrin, Midol, Alka-Seltzer, Sudafed and most notably Tylenol all contain acetaminophen as either a painkiller or fever reducer. The administration followed this claim by tying the use of acetaminophen to childhood autism, all according to NBC News.

The argument that the rise in autism is linked to the use of over-the-counter drugs made by government officials including RFK Jr. is backed by a community of anti-vaxxers, but not necessarily by science.

A Johns Hopkins University researcher traced the roughly 300% increase in autism diagnoses to two root causes, neither of which are associated with vaccinations, according to a Johns Hopkins article. The first influence is a broader definition of what autism is, which changes the scope of who can be diagnosed. Second, over the last two decades more children between 18 and 24 months are screened for Autism Spectrum Disorder, because families feel less stigma in the diagnosis.

RFK Jr. denounced the claims as unfounded. There is heavily conflicting information on both sides of the argument, both proving and disproving acetaminophen leads to childhood autism, resulting in a lack of serious evidence, yet conclusions are being drawn hastily.

Despite RFK Jr.’s experience in advocacy for both environmental protection and protection of children’s health, he has no medical experience to back up his claims.

He graduated from University of Virginia with a degree in law, then received a masters in Environmental Law from Pace University. Both degrees back him in his pursuits of environmental advocacy, but how did he become the secretary of health?

Through his position as health secretary, RFK Jr. oversees key health agencies, most notably; The Department of Health and Human Services, The Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among others. RFK Jr. also heads over 80,000 national employees and around a $2 trillion dollar budget for 2025, according to The Health and Human Services website.

The question remains; can we trust our government with our health? It seems as though Trump has stacked his cabinet with an army of yes men who will back him regardless of how outrageous his claims are. When RFK Jr. first ran for president, he was a known pro-choice politician, supporting abortion until around 24 weeks.

After the landmark decision overturning Roe v Wade spoke up about his support of legislation to restore the constitutional law.

“Abortion is a tragedy, but I don’t trust the government to make these decisions for Americans. I’m for choice and medical freedom. We need to trust mothers to make the best decisions. We also need to give full support to mothers who want to bring babies to term,” RFK Jr. said.

However, since joining Trump’s team, his opinion seems to have changed, or been put on the back burner, despite being head of Health and Human Services. RFK Jr. is now more conservative with his stance, only supporting abortions before and between 15 and 18 weeks, according to CNN.

The rise in polarization in America is only growing as Trump pushes out more executive orders, backed by his armada of yes men. The MAGA movement has taken another prisoner in MAHA, proving that the U.S. government is no longer by the people for the people, it is by the mighty, for the mighty.

Liz Mantush can be reached at mantushe@duq.edu