RFK Jr. Claims Trump ‘promised’ him ‘control of public health agencies’

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(WASHINGTON) – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said earlier this week that former President Donald Trump “promised” him “control of public health agencies” if Trump retakes the White House in November.

Kennedy, who suspended his independent presidential campaign in August and endorsed Trump, made the comments during a Zoom call with supporters on Monday evening. The agencies Kennedy was reported to have overseen in the case include the federal Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture.

“The key that President Trump promised me is control of the public health agencies, which are HHS and its subagencies, the CDC, the FDA, the NIH and several others. And also the USDA, which, as you know, is key to making America healthy because we need to get rid of seed oils and pesticides… and we need to make the transition to regenerative agriculture,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy was an anti-vaccination activist and founded Children’s Health Defense, a prominent anti-vaccine nonprofit that campaigned against vaccinations and other public health measures such as water fluoridation. Medical experts have expressed concerns about an increase in medical misinformation surrounding Kennedy’s candidacy.

Kennedy’s remarks drew condemnation from Trump’s former surgeon general, Jerome Adams.

“If RFK has a significant impact in the next administration, it could further reduce people’s willingness to learn about recommended vaccines, and I worry about the impact it could have on our nation’s health, our nation’s economy, our global security,” Adams said on public health conference, according to The New York Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg.

Trump said he was committed to bringing Kennedy into his administration. Last week, Trump touted Kennedy’s role in helping him “get our health straight” but joked that he was worried about his strong stance on the environment, saying he wanted to continue drilling.

“I don’t know if I’ll let him work on the environment too much. I’m a little worried about that when it comes to Bobby. “I don’t know if I want him to play with our liquid gold under our feet,” Trump said last Friday at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Nevada. “You know, like I said, Bobby’s going to work on his health. He’s great.”

Trump first floated the idea of Kennedy leading his administration’s health efforts at the Al Smith Dinner earlier this month. He said Kennedy would “make us a healthier place.”

“We’ll let him run wild for a while, and then I might have to stop him because he’s got some crazy ideas, but most of them are really good,” Trump said at the dinner. “I think he is a good man and he believes in the environment and healthy people. He wants healthy people, he wants healthy food. And he intends to do it. He will have a good chance to do it because we need it.

Trump’s campaign said that while no formal decisions had been made about his cabinet if he won the election, the former president would “work with” people like Kennedy in health-related roles.

“No formal decisions have been made regarding the Cabinet and staff, but President Trump has said he will work with passionate voices like RFK Jr. to Make America Healthy Again by ensuring families have safe food and ending the epidemic of chronic disease plaguing our children.” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to ABC News. “President Trump will also appoint a special Presidential Commission of independent minds and task it with investigating the causes of the decades-long rise in chronic diseases.”

ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Soorin Kim and Lalee Ibssa contributed to this report.