The main reason RFK Jr. is unqualified to serve as HHS secretary
There are many reasons to strenuously oppose President-elect Donald Trumps nomination of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services. But this one matters most: his willful disregard for the scientific process.
HHS is a huge bureaucracy with more than 80,000 employees and 13 agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health. It would be ideal if Kennedy had government experience but not essential. President Joe Bidens first CDC director, Rochelle Walensky, didnt have government experience, either. And it would be ideal if he were a doctor or health administrator, but plenty of secretaries, including the current one, Xavier Becerra, have been neither.
Kennedys views on how to Make America Healthy Again arent altogether problematic. Plenty of HHS secretaries have come with their own priorities, and MAHAs premise of focusing on chronic disease prevention is one that nearly every medical professional would agree with. Its not even disqualifying that he has contrarian views and questions matters that are widely understood as scientific dogma. On some issues such as water fluoridation policy he might be right to challenge conventional wisdom.
The reason Kennedy is uniquely unfit compared with past nominees is that his approach to scientific inquiry is as an activist, not a scientist.
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https://wapo.st/410drWG
Skittles
(159,237 posts)that is main reason
sheshe2
(87,464 posts)LymphocyteLover
(6,749 posts)Irish_Dem
(57,309 posts)womanofthehills
(9,265 posts)He says he has attended AA meetings for over 40 years -claims he still attends many meetings every week - tries to squeeze one in every day. Says its not an excuse, but he started drugs after his dad was murdered. He was drinking & doing heroin - stopped in late 20s after being arrested and as part of his probation started environmental work and then got a passion for it.
All Trumps picks are to shake everything up.
RFK Jr is all over social media - probably doing a podcast or more a day including his own podcast. . Like him or hate him he has been one of our top environmental lawyers with over 500 cases against polluters. Obama considered hiring him for the same cabinet post. I have less of a problem with him than I do with Trumps other picks esp the super far right born again war hawk neocon Christians -Huckabee and esp Pete Hegseth (covered with religious tattoos). Also picking Stefanik is a FU to the UN. Also,I think it might be about time to get big pharma out of running our agencies.
Irish_Dem
(57,309 posts)Someone who is clean and sober, but acts impaired.
I don't care how many meetings he is attending, he acts high as a kite most of the time.
He speaks in word salad and makes no sense whatsoever.
He is also paranoid, believes the world of science is trying to kill him and others.
It is all paranoid fantasy.
Paranoids can be quite dangerous. They have to take drastic measures to protect themselves
from perceived threats.
This is a man who needs to be on antipsychotic medication and in treatment.
And his children should get guardianship of him and his affairs.
Instead he is allowed to destroy the US healthcare system.