President-elect Donald Trump has asked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be his next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, a source familiar with the move told CNN, a choice that would add to Trump’s list of provocative picks whose confirmation processes will test the loyalty of Senate Republicans.
The source said Kennedy is expected to accept. Multiple sources told CNN that Trump could announce the choice as soon as Thursday.
Politico was first to report the selection.
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“Certainly the president wants to find a place for RFK Jr.,” transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News Thursday. “As for his specific position, I’ll let President Trump announce that.”
The move is a notable one given that only days before the election, Trump’s transition co-chair Howard Lutnick told CNN that Kennedy was “not getting a job for HHS.”
“He would not be in charge of HHS?” he was asked on “The Source with Kaitlan Collins.”
“No,” Lutnick said, “of course not.”
That answer set off an internal uproar in Trump’s orbit, with Trump making clear to Kennedy that he would make the ultimate decisions.
More to come …
