About 40 top leaders joined the effort to prepare for avian flu and other emergencies. Kennedy instead lobbied senators on his controversial nomination.

Top advisers to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are battling over how aggressively to target vaccines during his first days as the nation’s health secretary, amid fears of a political backlash that could quickly swamp his agenda and derail his relationship with President Donald Trump.

Kennedy, who remains close with Trump, is still expected to bring in a handful of his longtime allies. Stefanie Spear, who was press secretary on his 2024 campaign, is slated to be Kennedy’s deputy chief of staff at HHS, two of the Republicans said.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s nominee to be health secretary, would have oversight power over the vaccine’s maker, Merck, if confirmed.

The president’s carefully chosen appointments represent his vision and priorities for his return to the White House

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services, once pitched the idea to run an experiment on the children of Samoa to see whether vaccines actually work.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the Trump White House would advise against water fluoridation on Jan. 20. That didn't happen.

President Trump’s second term has gotten off to a roaring start as he continues to use unprecedented executive power to remake Washington.

With votes expected late evening, the Republican-led Senate is determined to install Hegseth, a former Fox News host and combat veteran, and round out President Donald Trump's top national security Cabinet officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe won confirmation within days of Trump's return to the White House.

Marco Rubio is the first member of Donald Trump's second administration whose position was confirmed by the Senate.

"It is in the national interest to finally release all records related to these assassinations without delay."