(The Center Square) – Colorado Gov. Jared Polis expressed support for one of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees.
Trump wants Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as his Health and Human Services secretary – a move Polis, a Democrat, strongly supports.
“I’m excited by the news that the President-Elect will appoint @RobertKennedyJr to @HHSGov,” Polis posted on X. “He helped us defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado in 2019 and will help make America healthy again by shaking up HHS and FDA. I hope he leans into personal choice on vaccines rather than bans (which I think are terrible, just like mandates), but what I’m most optimistic about is taking on big pharma and the corporate ag oligopoly to improve our health.”
Polis mentioned a few policy stances Kennedy holds that he supports. This includes prescription drug importation from Canada, eliminating the agriculture lobby’s influence on the FDA’s nutrition department, and limiting the use of pesticides in agriculture that adversely impact human health.
“He will face strong special interest opposition on these, but I look forward to partnering with him to truly make America healthy againand I hope that we can finally make progress on these important issues,” Polis posted on X.
Polis reiterated that he may disagree with Kennedy, a skeptic of some vaccines, about the efficacy of vaccines, but thinks Kennedy could improve public health.
“Re my thoughts on @RobertKennedyJr, Science must remain THE cornerstone of our nation’s health policy and the science-backed decision to get vaccinated improves public health and safety,” Polis wrote. “But if as a country we follow the science we would also be far more concerned about the impact of pesticides on public health, ag policy on nutrition, and the lack of access to prescription drugs due to high prices.This is why I am for a major shake-up in institutions like the FDA thathave been barriers to lowering drug costs and promoting healthy food choices.Lest there by any doubt, I am vaccinated as is my family. I will hold any HHS Secretary to the same high standard of protecting and improving public health.”
Trump announced the Kennedy pick on Thursday afternoon, as The Center Square previously reported.
A lifelong Democrat, Kennedy became an independent late last year during his presidential bid.
However, he dropped out during the summer and endorsed Trump.
Since then, Kennedy has adopted the slogan “Make America Healthy Again,” a play on Trump’s “Make America Great Again.”
Trump praised Kennedy when announcing the pick on X.
“The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country,” Trump wrote. “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 to Make America Great and Healthy Again!”
In a post thanking Trump, Kennedy said that he wants America to be the healthiest country in the world.
“Thank you @realDonaldTrump for your leadership and courage,” Kennedy posted on X. “I’m committed to advancing your vision to Make America Healthy Again. We have a generational opportunity to bring together the greatest minds in science, medicine, industry, and government to put an end to the chronic disease epidemic. I look forward to working with the more than 80,000 employees at HHS to free the agencies from the smothering cloud of corporate capture so they can pursue their mission to make Americans once again the healthiest people on Earth.”
“Together we will clean up corruption, stop the revolving door between industry and government, and return our health agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science,” Kennedy added. “I will provide Americans with transparency and access to all the data so they can make informed choices for themselves and their families. My commitment to the American people is to be an honest public servant. Let’s go!”
