OPINION
(Editor's Note: The following opinion column does not constitute an endorsement of any medicine or medical procedure; it is not medical advice on the part of Newsmax.)
Not unexpectedly, President-elect Donald Trump’s bold nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has met with significant and vocal opposition.
Responses have ranged from outrage to indignity to abject terror, as cries of "unhinged," "conspiracy theorist," "misinformation," and "anti-vaxxer" ring out across pharmaceutical companies, big agriculture’s corporate boardrooms, amongst lobbyists, hospital systems, and the mainstream media.
Perhaps the most civil — and frankly, honest — of the criticisms came in a piece by Politico.com, "Washington’s Lobbyists Stunned Trump Chose RFK Jr.," which describes Mr. Kennedy as "an unconventional pick."
The lobbyists for the status quo are right that Kennedy is an "unconventional pick," they're right to be — "stunned" — rarely has our broken system been challenged by our leaders in DC - and frankly, they are right to be concerned.
Kennedy will not put corporate interests before the welfare of the American people.
Multiple entities and stakeholders are in defiant opposition to the possibility of RFK Jr.’s confirmation, but not for the ersatz concerns these opposers submit.
They oppose because they know that Mr. Kennedy’s proposed tighter regulation on the use of pesticides, diligent examination of vaccine safety data, limitations on ultra-processed foods in schools, and the elimination of pharmaceutical advertising on television will pose a major threat to their positions, their control, and their profits.
He will most assuredly disrupt the status quo and the comfortable nests being feathered.
But if we simply take Politico’s description of Mr. Kennedy as "unconventional," I would submit that is precisely why he is the perfect choice for this critical cabinet position.
One need only look at what "conventional" appointments have delivered over decades of previous administrations.
As a physician with more than 30 years of clinical experience, I know firsthand just how broken our current healthcare system is, and it’s been broken — in part — by decades of “conventional” appointments to HHS.
"Conventional" appointments to HHS have resulted in 80% of adult Americans suffering from at least one chronic disease, 42% having two or more, and 12% having at least five.
This chronic disease epidemic accounts for 90% of the $4.1 trillion spent on private and public healthcare in 2023.
"Conventional" appointments have resulted in one out of every 36 children having autism, compared to one in 1,400 in 1987, and one in 150 just 20 years ago.
"Conventional" appointments have resulted in America’s obesity rate continuing to skyrocket. In 2023, 23 states had one in three adults (35%) with obesity.
Before 2013, no state had an adult obesity prevalence at or above 35%. Currently, at least one in five adults (20%) in each U.S. state is obese.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts recently reported a 250% increase in prescriptions for injectable medications for obesity, putting them on track to spend nearly $200 million on the medications in 2024.
"Conventional" HHS leadership oversaw vaccine injury reports to VAERS between 2020 and 2022 related to the COVID mRNA injections that eclipsed, by an order of magnitude, injury claims for all other vaccines combined since the establishment of the surveillance system in 1990.
"Conventional" appointments sat idly while pharmaceutical companies have assumed near complete control of our once-trusted scientific medical journals, rendering the publications little more than marketing satellites for the companies that pay them, and leaving physicians at loss for credible sources of data.
These same "conventional" choices have allowed the pharmaceutical giants to continue the manipulative practice of television advertising, rendering the media outlets completely beholden to their financial masters and resulting in the complete suppression of counter narratives and scientific debate.
"Conventional" appointments have turned a blind eye to agricultural practices that have fundamentally poisoned our foods with pesticides, as well as cheap, highly addictive, and minimally nutritious additives, maximizing profits while churning disease.
Likewise, "conventional" picks have failed to address the gross conflicts of interest inherent in allowing individuals at oversight agencies such as the CDC, FDA, and NIH to hold ownership in patents (and therefore profits) on medications or other therapeutics over which they directly or indirectly influence use.
Suffice to say, the naysayers to Robert Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of HHS would have you believe that their concerns are for the health and welfare of the country, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Their historically "conventional" choices have lined their pockets and delivered us to our current abysmal state of ill-health.
It's high time for a highly "unconventional" leader, and that leader is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. I would implore the Senate to expeditiously confirm Mr. Kennedy’s appointment so that he can begin the much-needed work of mending our healthcare system to make America healthy again.
Dr. Kelly Victory is a doctor with 30 years of clinical experience and is an expert in disaster preparedness and response and the medical management of mass casualties.