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Trump transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick said during a Wednesday interview on CNN that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wouldn't head the Health and Human Services department if former President Donald Trump wins the election. The comments came after Kennedy told supporters at a virtual event on Monday that Trump had “promised” him control of several health-focused governmental offices, including HHS. (Martinez, 10/31)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is poised to have significant control over health and food safety in a potential Trump administration, with discussions about some Cabinet and agency officials reporting to him, according to four people familiar with the planning process who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail private conversations. Kennedy has been privately meeting with Trump transition officials to help draw up an agenda for a new administration, which could involve the longtime anti-vaccine activist taking a role as a White House czar rather than attempting to win Senate confirmation to lead an agency, the people said. (Diamond, Weber, Dawsey, Scherer and Roubein, 10/31)

The co-chair of the Trump-Vance transition team on Wednesday night endorsed vaccine conspiracy theories pushed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and suggested the activist and Trump ally would be given federal data in order to check vaccines’ safety if former President Donald Trump is elected. Speaking to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source,” Howard Lutnick, who said he recently spent two and a half hours with Kennedy, also said Kennedy is “not getting a job for (the Department of Health and Human Services),” which is contrary to a claim the activist made earlier this week in which he said Trump promised to give him “control” of several public health agencies, HHS among them. Lutnick also said tech entrepreneur Elon Musk would “help” rather than serve in the government if Trump wins. (Shelton, 10/31)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may be poised to play a key health role in the next administration should Donald Trump get re-elected, according to two people close to the campaign and familiar with the plans. The current thinking is that the role for the former independent candidate would be spearheading what one of the people described as the “Operation Warp Speed for childhood chronic disease,” referring to the title of the Covid vaccine development project during Trump’s first term. Kennedy is well-known for his criticism and skepticism of the Covid vaccine and other immunizations. (Burns and Lovelace Jr., 10/31)

Donald Trump’s embrace of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his fringe health theories is triggering a flurry of outreach in Washington and beyond, with powerful ag interests rushing to defend their industries from Kennedy’s threats. Trade groups representing farmers say they’re pushing the Trump campaign over concerns about Kennedy’s rhetoric on American agriculture. And lobbyists for packaged food companies and other major industry players are rushing to defend their use of additives and other ingredients under fire in the heat of the campaign. (Brown, Yarrow and Gibson, 10/31)

Donald Trump has changed the way scientists engage with presidential elections. After he was voted president in 2016, tens of thousands attended the March for Science around the country the following year. When he was running for reelection against Joe Biden in 2020, several journals, including Nature and The Lancet Oncology, took the historic step of endorsing a candidate in a presidential race for the first time. (Oza, 11/1)