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Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is slated to hold a potentially big role in a new Trump administration, said Wednesday there are “entire departments” within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that “have to go.” “In some categories … there are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA … that have to go, that are not doing their job, they’re not protecting our kids,” Kennedy said during an interview on MSNBC. (Ventura, 11/6)

As an independent presidential candidate and as a surrogate for Mr. Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged to upend the nation’s agriculture system and public health bureaucracy, effectively gutting whole swaths of the regulatory state, under the rubric of rooting out “cronyism” and corruption. Some have speculated that Mr. Trump will make him a “health czar” inside the White House, to guide the president on public health matters; a person familiar with the transition said Mr. Kennedy was at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday and spoke with Trump insiders about the public health agenda. (Stolberg and O'Brien, 11/6)

Donald Trump’s election win opens the door for vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to play a significant role in the administration and drastically change the nation’s public health practices. The former presidential candidate emerged as one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccine movement during the Covid-19 pandemic, when he challenged the safety of preventive shots. He’s also an opponent of drinking water fluoridation, a measure that has improved oral health for millions of Americans. (Mufarech, 11/6)

Contenders to lead HHS, the VA, and other departments —

President-elect Donald Trump and his allies prepared Wednesday to take power after a decisive election victory that could hand Republicans unified control of government and give Trump a broad mandate to pursue an agenda of radical change. (Alemany, Dawsey, Knowles, LeVine and Stein, 11/6)

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday endorsed his own controversial State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo for a top health care position in the next Trump administration. DeSantis went on social media, where he called on his followers to repost a picture of Ladapo if they want to see him serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services once President-elect Donald Trump assumes office. (Sexton, 11/6)

If the past is any indication, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the Department of Veterans Affairs is anyone's game. In 2017, just 10 days before his inauguration, Trump chose Dr. David Shulkin, then the VA's under secretary for health under President Barack Obama, for the top spot. When Trump dismissed Shulkin a little over a year later, he nominated his White House physician, then-Navy Adm. Ronny Jackson, for the post. (Kime, 11/6)

MAGA, meet MAHA. The sweeping election victory for President-elect Donald Trump this week also marks the start of an ambitious anti-chronic disease campaign, “Make America Healthy Again,” that has become central to Trump’s health agenda. (Cueto, 11/7)