President-elect Donald Trump assignment plan Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Will lead the Department of Health and Human Services revealing a leading vaccine skeptic at the helm of the country’s sprawling public health apparatus.

The scion of a prominent Democratic dynasty, Kennedy made a name for himself as an environmental lawyer who successfully battled major corporations like DuPont and Monsanto.

But over the past two decades he has increasingly devoted his energy to promoting claims about vaccines that go against the overwhelming consensus of scientists.

Trump would have Kennedy lead a massive Cabinet agency that oversees everything from drugs, vaccines and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid. He said before the election that he would give Kennedy full authority over health policy.

Here’s a look at Kennedy and the agency he’ll be tasked with leading:

Kennedy challenges scientific consensus on vaccines and other issues

He took over the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense and turned it into a juggernaut during the pandemic. His activism helped him build a loyal following that he used in his political pursuits.

Kennedy insists he’s not anti-vaxxer and claims he never told the public to avoid vaccination. However, he has repeatedly made clear that he is against vaccines. He said in a podcast that “there is no safe and effective vaccine” and urged people to resist CDC guidelines on when children should be vaccinated.

While there are rare cases where people have severe reactions to vaccines, the billions of doses administered globally provide real-world evidence that they are safe. The World Health Organization says vaccines prevent up to 5 million deaths each year.

He wants to eliminate liability protections for drug companies.

Even before Trump was elected, Kennedy said he would recommend that water companies stop adding fluoride to drinking water. Fluoride strengthens teeth and is considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the past century.

He has made a variety of other claims that are not supported by science, such as questioning whether HIV causes AIDS and suggesting that antidepressants lead to school shootings.

Children’s Health Defense currently has a lawsuit against a number of news organizations, including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to detect misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy left the group when he announced his candidacy for president but was listed as one of the group’s lawyers in the lawsuit.

HHS wants to overhaul its staff

Kennedy promised to take a serious look at those working at HHS and its agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He is particularly focused on ending the “revolving door” of employees who previously worked for pharmaceutical companies or who have left government service to work in the industry, campaign communications manager Del Bigtree told the AP last month. Bigtree is also an anti-vaccine organizer.

He said he wants to lay off 600 employees at the National Institutes of Health, which oversees vaccine research, and replace them with 600 new employees.

Most scientists and researchers working at NIH are not political appointees, making it even more difficult for them to be summarily fired. However, according to a video first obtained by ABC News, Kennedy made the pledge at the Genius Network Annual Event in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“We need to move quickly and we want these people in place on January 20th, so that on January 21st, 600 people will be entering offices at NIH and 600 will be leaving,” Kennedy said. According to a video of his remarks posted on YouTube.

He says the public health agency has been too focused on infectious diseases and wants to redirect resources to a range of problems he calls the chronic disease epidemic, including obesity, diabetes, autism and mental illness. He blames them on greedy corporations, including pharmaceutical companies that worry healthy Americans will be bad for their bottom lines, and food manufacturers who use harmful pesticides and additives.

Kennedy is the scion of a famous dynasty

Kennedy’s father was Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, brother of President John F. Kennedy. Both men were assassinated.

Kennedy initially ran against President Joe Biden in the Democratic primary before deciding to launch an independent bid. He then suspended that bid earlier this year and backed Trump, who has repeatedly praised Kennedy, promised him influence in a future administration and pledged to “Make America Healthy Again.”

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