According to a report in the New York Times, 77 Nobel Prize winners are speaking out against Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the future US Secretary of Health and Human Services. President-elect Donald Trump’s preferred candidate should not be confirmed by the Senate and put in charge of the ministry, according to a letter from the scientists published by the newspaper.
Anti-science health minister?
The letter was initiated, among others, by the British-American biochemist and molecular biologist Richard Roberts, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1993.
The signatories question Kennedy’s suitability for office and criticize his lack of qualifications or experience in fields such as medicine, science and administration. They accuse him of representing anti-scientific positions. If he takes office, this would endanger the health system and weaken the US’s leadership role in research, the letter says.
Kennedy was previously a respected environmental lawyer
The 70-year-old scion of the famous Kennedy dynasty has made headlines in the past with absurd claims and stories. Kennedy used to be a respected environmental lawyer, but in recent years he has often appeared as an anti-vaccination activist and spreader of conspiracy myths.
In the past, for example, he has distinguished himself as an opponent of life-saving vaccines, he spreads conspiracy theories and is a sharp critic of the authorities that will be subordinate to him in the future, such as the US Food and Drug Administration.
Trump’s nominee has yet to be confirmed
Trump said Kennedy would end “the epidemic of chronic disease” and make America healthy again. The person still has to be confirmed by the Senate.
