Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised a sweeping overhaul of federal health agencies Wednesday following President-elect Donald Trump’s massive election victory.
RFK, Jr. said he is specifically targeting a war on the Food and Drug Administration bureaucracy for what he called endemic “corruption.”
“In some categories, there are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA that have to go—that are not doing their job, they’re not protecting our kids,” Kennedy said recently.
“Why do we have Froot Loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients, and you go to Canada, and it’s got two or three?”
The former independent presidential candidate, who endorsed Trump after suspending his own campaign, outlined three mandates from the president-elect.
“Clean up the corruption in our government health agencies. Return those agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science. Make America Healthy Again by ending the chronic disease epidemic,” RFK, Jr. said.
Trump has repeatedly promised Kennedy significant influence over health policy.
At Madison Square Garden last month, Trump said he would “let him go wild on health” and “wild on the medicines.”
During an October Zoom call, Kennedy told supporters Trump had “promised [him] control” of multiple controversial agencies, including HHS, CDC, FDA, NIH, and the USDA.
However, transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick clarified that Kennedy would not serve as HHS Secretary, saying instead he would focus on federal health data.
“He says, ‘If you give me the data, all I want is the data, and I’ll show that it’s not safe,'” Lutnick told CNN, referring to vaccine safety studies.
Kennedy has already begun outlining potential policy changes in the upcoming Trump administration.
Last weekend, he announced plans to remove fluoride from drinking water systems, citing concerns about IQ loss and other health issues. Trump told NBC News the idea “sounds okay to me. You know it’s possible.”
While Kennedy ruled out eliminating entire agencies that would require congressional approval, he emphasized his experience challenging federal bureaucracies.
“I’ve sued all those agencies. I have a Ph.D. in corporate corruption and that’s what I do,” RFK, Jr. said. “Once they’re not corrupt, once Americans are getting good science and are allowed to make their own choices, they’re going to get a lot healthier.”
Vice President Harris had previously criticized the appointment of Kennedy, a longtime Demcorat, on X: “Putting an anti-abortion conspiracy theorist in charge of our public health agencies says everything you need to know about how Donald Trump would govern.”
Kennedy joins Trump’s transition team alongside Tulsi Gabbard, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., and others as the incoming administration prepares to implement its health agenda.