Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at his first confirmation hearing.Photo:ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.says he isn’t attacking junk food — he just wants Americans to know what they’re eating.
In his first of two Senate confirmation hearings for the role of health and human services secretary on Jan. 29, Kennedy said he doesn’t plan to restrict Americans from certain foods, as some had wondered.
“We need to … deploy NIH and FDA to doing the research to understand the relationship between these different food additives and chronic disease,” he said of the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, “so that Americans understand it and make sure that Americans are aware.”
He added, “But I don’t want to take food away from anybody.”
“If you like … a McDonald’s cheeseburger, Diet Coke — which my boss loves — you should be able to get them,” he told the Senate panel. “If you want to eat Hostess Twinkies, you should be able to do that, but you should know what the impacts are on your family and your health.”
In referencing his “boss,” Kennedy meant PresidentDonald Trump, whom he would answer to if confirmed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump has awell-documented love of Diet Coke.
Kennedy’s high-stakes confirmation hearing comes less than 24 hours after his cousinCaroline Kennedy, daughter of former PresidentJohn F. Kennedy, released a scathing letter about him.
In the letter, Caroline — who is normally a very private person, a source close to the family told PEOPLE —called her cousin a “predator"who is “addicted to attention and power.”
Caroline went on to note his history of substance abuse and claimed he led other family members down the same path. She also alleged that he had previously engaged in animal abuse and capitalized off of their family’s tragedies, including his fatherRobert F. Kennedy’s assassination.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at his confirmation hearing.Anna Moneymaker/Getty
Anna Moneymaker/Getty
Kennedy’s confirmation as Trump’s health secretary is far from certain, and criticisms from his family haven’t helped quiet the noise about his status as a controversial public figure.
Since siding with Trump last year, the vaccine skeptic claimed without evidence thatfluorideis a harmful addition to drinking water, and suggested Americans begin drinking raw milk amid news ofbird flubeing found in batches of the beverage.
source: people.com
