RFK Jr reviewing resumes for Trump health jobs: sources

New York: Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the former independent presidential candidate, is reviewing candidate résumés for the top jobs at health agencies in Donald Trump’s incoming administration, says a former Kennedy aide and a source familiar with the matter.

Kennedy, of the famed political family, had been asked to recommend appointees for all regulatory health agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration, said Del Bigtree, who was director of communications for Kennedy’s campaign and remains close to the former candidate.

A source familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified, echoed that Kennedy had taken on that role.

“The American people re-elected President Trump by resounding margins because they trust his judgment and support his policies, including his promise to Make America Healthy Again alongside well-respected leaders like RFK Jr,” Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in an emailed statement on Friday.

In August, Kennedy, an environmental lawyer who has spread misinformation about vaccines, ended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump in exchange for a role in Trump’s administration focused on public health. Kennedy says he is not anti-vaccination but wants more rigorous testing of vaccines.

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While he is looking for individuals to fill administration jobs, Kennedy could himself still take an official position in Trump’s administration or serve in an advisory capacity, Bigtree said.

Howard Lutnick, co-chair of Trump’s transition team, told CNN before Tuesday’s presidential election, however, that Kennedy was “not getting a job for HHS [the Health and Human Services Department]”.

Bigtree said Trump wanted to see Kennedy’s ideas for reducing chronic illness produce results within two years, especially in American children.