Robert F. Kennedy Jr., hours after being confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services, described the type of person he wants to remove from the department.
On Fox News‘ The Ingraham Angle, Kennedy was asked about rumors that up to 50 percent of staffers may be cut.
In recent weeks, HHS leaders—who are expecting layoffs—were told to rank staffers who are in probationary periods. Officials in the Centers for Disease Control, for instance, were instructed to list 40 percent of employees as “not mission-critical,” The Washington Post reported last week.
Kennedy said he didn’t know anything about the 50 percent number. “I would be surprised if there were 50 percent cuts,” he told Ingraham.
“I think the lower level employees at HHS, most of them are public spirited, good public servants, good American patriots and hardworking people,” Kennedy continued.
“What I’m interested in [is] moving away the people who have made really bad decisions, for example on the nutrition guidelines. There’s people at the National Institutes of Health that were involved in the amyloid plaque scandals that derailed Alzheimer’s treatment for 20 years,” Kennedy said, referring to allegations that some results of a study finding that amyloid plaque contributes to Alzheimer’s disease were falsified.
“It’s all corruption. Those kind of people need to be moved.”
Kennedy didn’t name any names, only saying he has a “generic list” in his head.
“If you have been involved in good science, you have nothing to worry about,” he told Ingraham. “If you care about public health, you’ve got nothing to worry about. If you’re in there working for the pharmaceutical industry, then I should say you should move out and work for the pharmaceutical industry.”
Earlier in the interview, Kennedy, who has spread misinformation about vaccines, pledged not to interfere with their availability.
“I’m not going to take away anyone’s vaccines,” he said—the type of assurance that helped him win over the support of Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician.
Last month, more than 15,000 doctors signed a letter opposing Kennedy’s confirmation.
