President-elect Trump has appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. elected to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“I am very pleased to welcome Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to announce as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the food industrial complex and pharmaceutical companies that have engaged in deception, disinformation, and disinformation when it comes to public health,” Trump said in his announcement Thursday.

“The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any government, and HHS will play a major role in helping ensure everyone is protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming health crisis in this country.”

The announcement comes just over a week after Trump regained the presidency.

Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, shake hands during a campaign rally in Glendale, Arizona, August 23. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

RFK Jr. joined the 2024 campaign cycle as a candidate for the Oval Office. Kennedy, the son of former US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, has been disbarred from the presidential elections in August after initially running as a Democrat before switching to an independent run.

Kennedy endorsed Trump shortly after suspending his campaign, and has since hit the campaign trail touting his plans to “make America whole again” under a potential Trump presidency.

Kennedy has joined a slew of Trump campaign events in the run-up to Nov. 5, including a speech at Trump’s historic rally at Madison Square Garden last month, where he blasted the current state of the Democratic Party.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 27: Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks for Republican presidential candidate, Former US President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on October 27, 2024 in New York City. Trump concluded his campaign weekend in New York with a guest list of speakers including his running mate Republican vice presidential nominee, U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH), Tesla CEO Elon Musk, UFC CEO Dana White and House Speaker Mike Johnson among others nine days before election day. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

“The Democratic Party is the party of war. It is the party of the CIA. You had Kamala Harris give a speech at the Democratic convention that was written by neoconservatives. It was combative, belligerent. There was talk of the United States dominating the world through our weapons of war. Today it is the party that wants to divide Americans. It is a party that dismantles women’s sports by allowing men to play women’s sports,” he said.

“It’s the party of Wall Street. It’s the party of Bill Gates, who just gave $50 million to Harris. It is the party, and the Harris campaign is very proud to have received the support of fifty former CIA agents and officers and John Bolton. and from Dick Cheney.”

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. waves to the crowd during a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Kennedy, who has been a key figure in Trump’s campaign since endorsing him, was asked about his potential role in the next White House and whether he would begin “cleaning out the top federal agency employees currently at the FDA and the CDC work. .”

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, shakes hands with Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, during a campaign rally on Friday, August 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz.

He continued: “In some categories, their entire departments, such as the FDA’s nutrition division, have to go. They’re not doing their job. They don’t protect our children. Why do we have Froot Loops in this country? that have 18 or 19 ingredients, and you go to Canada and there are two or three?”

“Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research and beacons of transparency, to end the chronic disease epidemic and make America great and healthy again!” Trump added.