Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson to back Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for US health secretary

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the vaccine skeptic and erstwhile presidential candidate now being tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the nation’s health agency, would have the full backing of U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.

Johnson, a Republican who has represented Wisconsin in Washington since 2011, has himself long questioned the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and called for investigations into vaccine protocols.

In an interview that aired on WISN-TV Sunday, Johnson said he thought Kennedy would sail through a confirmation hearing before the full Senate, which votes on cabinet nominees.

“I think he’ll do an extremely good job, because it’s kind of hard to refute the truth, and he’ll be laying out many truths,” Johnson said.

Johnson and Kennedy both promote the idea that there are connections between vaccination and childhood illness, claims that are widely refuted by most of the medical community. Johnson has argued that alternate ideas have been suppressed by the media and pharmaceutical companies, and said that Kennedy could help look into “uncorrupted science.”

“There’s a variety of opinions on this, and there are all kinds of medical studies that the mainstream media and big pharma simply refuse to acknowledge and look at,” he said.

Patrick Remington, the former dean of public health at the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said it’s hard to tell in advance how Kennedy would lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

“Time will tell how his personal views over the past several years will translate into actions as secretary,” he said. “I think it’s important to understand sometimes people’s views change when their roles and responsibilities change.”

The role for which Kennedy has been nominated oversees a workforce of about 80,000 people in organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health. Remington said the experts who work in those organizations are charged with building consensus about the best approaches to combating disease and promoting food and drug safety.

“As a as a leader of those organizations … that’s a different role than being on a campaign trail or being a disrupter of what is often considered to be scientific consensus or the status quo,” he said.

In the WISN-TV interview, Johnson also said he’d consider the nomination of former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz to serve as U.S. Attorney General. Gaetz has been under investigation by the U.S. House for allegations that he sexually assaulted a minor.

Johnson said he hasn’t seen the findings from that investigation.

“I know he’s got potentially some issues out there. I don’t know what they particularly are. I haven’t seen the ethics report. So he’ll go through the confirmation process, and I’ll keep an open mind,” Johnson said.

In a statement, Wisconsin’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said she takes seriously her duty “to ensure only qualified candidates lead the critical agencies that oversee our men and women in uniform, administer health care to millions, lead our law enforcement, and do so much to serve Wisconsinites.”

“I’ll give every nominee a fair shake and due consideration, but I will not compromise if someone might hurt Wisconsin families, veterans, or businesses,” she said.