Donald Trump has picked vaccine skeptic and former independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr as his health secretary, as the president-elect continues to build his new administration.
Kennedy, commonly known by his initials RFK Jr, has a history of spreading health information that scientists say is false.
If his nomination is ratified by the Senate, he will lead a huge agency overseeing everything from food safety to medical research and welfare programmes.
The executive director of the American Public Health Association (APHA) said the organisation will “absolutely oppose” Kennedy’s nomination.
Speaking to BBC Newsday on Friday, Georges C Benjamin fiercely denounced Kennedy’s qualifications for the role.
“He is not competent by training, management skills, temperament or trust to have this job. He’s just absolutely the wrong guy for it,” Benjamin said.
“He is really just a person without a health background who’s already caused great damage in health in the country.”
Benjamin pointed to Kennedy’s previous comments questioning the safety and efficacy of vaccines, and what might happen if there were another pandemic during his tenure.
Benjamin continued: “We’re going advocate as loudly and as often as we can to make sure that people know what a risk he is to the public and to the public’s health.”
Kennedy’s nomination came amid a flurry of announcements on Thursday evening, with Trump also declaring his intention to nominate North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as his interior secretary.
Trump said he would formally announce the selection of Burgum – a former businessman who ran against the president-elect for the Republican presidential nomination – on Friday.
He had initially teased the move during a speech to supporters at Mar-a-Lago – his first since election night – saying he would be appointing Burgum to a “very big position”, before seemingly deciding to dispense with the suspense.
