- Wikipedia

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy in 2023

United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Nominee
Assuming office TBD
President	Donald Trump
Deputy	Jim O'Neill (nominee)
Succeeding	Xavier Becerra
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Personal details
Born	Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (1954-01-17) January 17, 1954 (age 71) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Democratic (before 2023) Independent (2023\u2013present)
Spouses	\n Emily Black \n (m. 1982; div. 1994) \n Mary Richardson \n (m. 1994; died 2012) \n Cheryl Hines (m. 2014)
Children	6
Parents	Robert F. Kennedy Ethel Kennedy
Relatives	See Kennedy family
Education	Harvard University (BA) London School of Economics University of Virginia (JD) Pace University (LLM)
Occupation	Environmental lawyer
\n \n \n Kennedy's voice \n \n Kennedy on Eisenhower's foreign policy Recorded June 29, 2023 \n

Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. (born January 17, 1954), also known by his initials RFK Jr., is an American politician, environmental lawyer, author, anti-vaccine activist, and conspiracy theorist. He is the nominee for United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in President Donald Trump's second cabinet.\n

A member of the Kennedy family, he is a son of U.S. attorney general and senator Robert F. Kennedy and a nephew of U.S. president John F. Kennedy and Senator Ted Kennedy. He began his career as an assistant district attorney in New York City. In the mid-1980s, he joined two nonprofits focused on environmental protection, Riverkeeper and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). He became an adjunct professor of environmental law at Pace University School of Law in 1986. In 1987, Kennedy founded Pace's Environmental Litigation Clinic. He founded the nonprofit environmental group Waterkeeper Alliance in 1999. He ran as a Democratic candidate and later an independent candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election, then withdrew from the race and endorsed Trump.\n

Since 2005, Kennedy has promoted vaccine misinformation^[1] and public-health conspiracy theories,^[2] including the scientifically disproved claim of a causal link between vaccines and autism. He is the founder and former chairman^[3] of Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine advocacy group and proponent of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. Kennedy has written books including The Riverkeepers (1997), Crimes Against Nature (2004), The Real Anthony Fauci (2021), and A Letter to Liberals (2022).\n

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v t e Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Founded	\n Waterkeeper Alliance \n Children's Health Defense \n	$\"\"$
Writings	\n The Riverkeepers (1997 book) \n Crimes Against Nature (2004 book) \n \"Deadly Immunity\" (2005 article) \n The Real Anthony Fauci (2021 book) \n A Letter to Liberals (2022 book) \n
Documentary work	\n Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk (2008) \n Medical Racism: The New Apartheid (2021) \n
Radio	\n Ring of Fire \n
Electoral	\n 2024 presidential campaign \n
Related	\n Hickory Hill (boyhood home) \n Kennedy Compound (boyhood home) \n The Last Mountain \n
Kennedy family (family tree)	\n Mary Richardson Kennedy (second wife) \n Cheryl Hines (third wife) \n Ethel Kennedy (mother) \n Robert F. Kennedy (father) \n Kathleen Kennedy (sister) \n Joseph Patrick Kennedy (brother) \n Michael LeMoyne Kennedy (brother) \n Kerry Kennedy (sister) \n Christopher G. Kennedy (brother) \n Max Kennedy (brother) \n Douglas Harriman Kennedy (brother) \n Rory Kennedy (sister) \n Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (grandfather) \n Rose Kennedy (grandmother) \n

v t e Fraudulent pseudo-medicine
Deceptively named front groups	\n Children's Health Defense \n Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance \n Health Advisory and Recovery Team \n World Council for Health \n World Doctors Alliance \n
Promoters of discredited treatments	\n Dolores Cahill \n Vernon Coleman \n Heinrich Fiechtner \n Scott Jensen \n Robert F. Kennedy Jr. \n Pierre Kory \n Bret Weinstein \n Aseem Malhotra \n Paul Marik \n Peter McCullough \n
\n list \n $\"\"$ Category \n

v t e Robert F. Kennedy
November 20, 1925 \u2013 June 6, 1968\n \n 64th United States Attorney General, 1961\u20131964 \n United States senator from New York, 1965\u20131968 \n
Life	\n 1948 Palestine visit \n Senate Committee investigation of Labor and Management \n Cuban Missile Crisis\n ExComm \n Civil rights\n Freedom Riders \n Voter Education Project \n Baldwin\u2013Kennedy meeting \n 1964 Democratic National Convention \n Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation \n Mississippi Delta tour \n Kennedy Compound \n Hickory Hill home \n	$\"\"$
Electoral	\n 1964 U.S. Senate election \n 1968 presidential campaign\n primaries \n Boiler Room Girls \n
Speeches	\n Law Day Address (1961) \n Day of Affirmation Address (1966) \n Conflict in Vietnam and at Home (1968) \n University of Kansas (1968) \n Ball State (1968) \n On the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (1968) \n \"On the Mindless Menace of Violence\" (1968) \n
Books	\n The Enemy Within (1960) \n The Pursuit of Justice (1964) \n To Seek a Newer World (1967) \n Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1969) \n
Assassination	\n Sirhan Sirhan \n Ambassador Hotel \n Conspiracy theories \n Gravesite \n
Legacy and memorials	\n Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building \n Robert F. Kennedy silver dollar \n Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights\n Human Rights Award \n Journalism Award \n Book Award \n Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium \n Brooklyn Memorial \n Landmark for Peace Memorial \n Arch of Dignity, Equality, and Justice \n Kennedy\u2013King College \n Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools \n Robert F. Kennedy Bridge \n
Popular culture	\n Robert F. Kennedy in media \n Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963 documentary) \n Robert Kennedy Remembered (1968 documentary) \n \"Abraham, Martin and John\" (1968 song) \n The Missiles of October (1974 docudrama) \n Kennedy (1983 miniseries) \n Blood Feud (1983 film) \n Prince Jack (1985 film) \n Robert Kennedy and His Times (1985 miniseries) \n Hoover vs. The Kennedys (1987 miniseries) \n Thirteen Days (2000 film) \n RFK (2002 film) \n Bobby (2006 film) \n RFK Must Die (2007 documentary) \n The Kennedys (2011 miniseries) \n Ethel (2012 documentary) \n Killing Kennedy (2013 film) \n Jackie (2016 film) \n Bobby Kennedy for President (2018 miniseries) \n
Family, family tree	\n Ethel Skakel (wife) \n Kathleen Kennedy (daughter) \n Joseph Patrick Kennedy (son) \n Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (son) \n Michael LeMoyne Kennedy (son) \n Kerry Kennedy (daughter) \n Christopher G. Kennedy (son) \n Max Kennedy (son) \n Douglas Harriman Kennedy (son) \n Rory Kennedy (daughter) \n Maeve Kennedy McKean (granddaughter) \n Joseph P. Kennedy III (grandson) \n Max Kennedy Jr. (grandson) \n Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (father) \n Rose Kennedy (mother) \n Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (brother) \n John F. Kennedy (brother \n presidency) \n Rosemary Kennedy (sister) \n Kathleen Kennedy Cavendish (sister) \n Eunice Kennedy Shriver (sister) \n Patricia Kennedy Lawford (sister) \n Jean Kennedy Smith (sister) \n Ted Kennedy (brother) \n Patrick J. Kennedy (grandfather) \n Mary Augusta Kennedy (grandmother) \n John F. Fitzgerald (grandfather) \n
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Authority control databases $\"Edit$
International	ISNI VIAF FAST WorldCat
National	Germany United States France BnF data Japan Australia Czech Republic Norway Korea Poland Israel Catalonia
Academics	CiNii
People	Trove DDB
Other	IdRef SNAC

Early life and education

Career

Manhattan DA's office

Conviction for heroin possession

Riverkeeper

Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic

Waterkeeper Alliance

New York City Watershed Agreement

Kennedy & Madonna LLP

Morgan & Morgan

Cape Wind

Other ventures

Minority and poor communities

International and indigenous rights

Military and Vieques

Political views

Economic inequality

Foreign affairs and military intervention

Environmental policy

Questioning the validity of elections

Political endorsements

Political aspirations

Candidacy aspirations

2000s consideration for top environmental jobs

2024 presidential campaign

Nomination for Health and Human Services Secretary

Criticism

Senate nomination hearings for Secretary of HHS

Conflicts of interest disclosure statement

Anti-vaccine advocacy and conspiracy theories on public health

Overview

Vaccines and autism claims

Writings and speeches promoting anti-vaccine theories

Meeting with Donald Trump

Controversy with Robert De Niro

Samoa measles outbreak

COVID-19

Medical racism conspiracy theory

HIV/AIDS denialism

Pushback from the Kennedy family

Other opinions

Food allergies

Murder of Martha Moxley

Assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy

Gender dysphoria

Conspiracy theory about contrails

Personal life

General interests

Marriages and children

Health

Religion

Sexual assault allegations

Treatment of dead animals

Arms

Selected works

Children's books

Note

References

Citations

External links