Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Environmental Advocate and Health Secretary

This post reviews Robert Kennedy Jr.’s life, highlighting his political lineage and career as an environmental advocate. Confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services, he aims to manage a significant agency concerned with public health and welfare. His decisions will directly affect the health and well-being of everyone in our country.

update February 13, 2025

The Senate voted to confirm Kennedy’s nomination as health secretary.

The Senate voted 52 to 48, with all Republicans except Kentucky Senator and former majority leader, Mitch McConnell, supporting the environmental lawyer. Kennedy was sworn in today by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

As I researched Robert Kennedy for this post, I realized he and I are about the same age. We were both grade school kids when his uncle, President John Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

His was the first presidential election I understood. My parents liked JFK, so I did too.  I listened to his inaugural speech where he spoke words I’ve never forgotten.

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

President John F. Kennedy

His brother Robert served as the Attorney General, although I’m sure I didn’t know what that meant. I don’t remember much about him until he ran for president when Robert Jr. and I were teenagers. It seemed impossible that he too was shot, and killed while campaigning.

Some years later, their younger brother, Senator Ted Kennedy, ran for president. However, he lost the Democratic nomination against incumbent President Jimmy Carter. So, at least for then, there wouldn’t be another President Kennedy—at least not until Robert Jr. ran last year.

There still isn’t another President Kennedy but President Trump nominated Robert Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Senate is expected to confirm him.

This is his official bio on the White House website. I’ve added comments in parentheses and links for more information.

from WhiteHouse.gov

Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy, Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s career of public service began in 1985 as an attorney for the environmental nonprofit RiverKeeper. He eventually became one of the most influential environmentalists in the United States, receiving TIME Magazine’s “Hero of the Planet” (1999) and the Sartisky Peace Award. (I could not find a link for Sartisky Peace Award.)

Bobby Kennedy Jr. comes from an illustrious political family. The son of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy, Bobby Jr. was a lifelong Democrat but became increasingly estranged from the party in the 2010s as it drifted away from its traditional values.

He made his final break on October 9, 2023, when he announced his candidacy as an independent for President of the United States. (He eventually suspended his election campaign, instead endorsed and supported Trump.)

Bobby has spent nearly 40 years fighting corrupt corporations and government agencies. During his tenure at RiverKeeper, he successfully sued dozens of municipalities to force compliance with the Clean Water Act.

He won cases against corporate giants too, including a suit against General Electric for toxic runoff from its corporate jet hangar and a court order against ExxonMobil mandating they clean up tens of millions of gallons of spilled oil in Brooklyn, NY.

Building on the success of the local Riverkeeper model, Bobby co-founded the WaterKeeper Alliance and served as its President for 21 years. Under his direction, it became the world’s largest nonprofit devoted to clean water and now protects 2.7 million miles of waterways with over a million volunteers in the United States and 46 other countries. (According to its website, he does not seem to be involved with the company now.)

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for illustration only, created by AI

Department of Health and Human Services

As Secretary, Kennedy will oversee a vast agency with a huge budget.

What does HHS do? Per the website, the mission is

to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans,

by providing for effective health and human services and

by fostering sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health, and social services.

man sitting in front of computer monitor at the CDC.
a scientist in a lab working on covid antibodies
a nurse discussing blood pressure with a patient.
FLU VACCINE: We all have a role in protecting each other.
photos and graphic from the Public Health Image Library, CDC

The proposed budget for FY 2025 includes $130.7 billion in discretionary and $1.7 trillion in mandatory proposed budget authority.

(Mandatory spending is required by law, also known as entitlement spending. Examples are Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, and interest on debt. Discretionary spending is approved by Congress each year. )

You can review the organizational chart here but you’ve probably heard the most about these agencies

  • CDC-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • FDA-Food and Drug Administration
  • CMS-Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
  • NIH-National Institutes of Health

I reviewed the appointees to some of these in this post

Trump’s Key Health Appointments: HHS, FDA, CDC Leadership Changes

President-elect Trump has appointed key figures for health leadership, including Robert Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Three physicians—Dr. Marty Makary for the FDA, Dr. Dave Weldon for the CDC, and Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as Surgeon General—were also nominated. However, their nominations faced changes and withdrawals.

Keep reading

Featured Image-National Institutes of Health campus

The featured image for this post is of the James H. Shannon Building (Building One), NIH campus, Bethesda, MD Credit: Lydia Polimeni, National Institutes of Health.

“Since President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Bethesda campus from the front steps, Building 1 has been the focal point for NIH leadership.”

Exploring the HEART of Health

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Dr. Murthy’s Parting Prescription

In this post I review outgoing U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s “Parting Prescription for America” . He reminds us of the importance of rebuilding community through relationships, service, and purpose. The erosion of community leads to disconnection and poor health. Dr. Murthy advocates for a cultural shift towards fulfillment and connection as a path to overall well-being.

Our outgoing Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has offered final thoughts and a “prescription” for health for our country and for each of us.

He titled it Parting Prescription for America.

In a previous post, I reviewed his career and the health issues he addressed as the 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States. Here is a summary of the news release from HHS and a link to his article.

As He Concludes His Second Tenure, 21st U.S. Surgeon General Issues Parting Prescription for America

A week before leaving office, United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released his Parting Prescription for America – PDF. In it he reflects on his personal and professional experiences as our nation’s Surgeon General.

Dr. Vivek Murthy

Throughout his service, Dr. Murthy tried to understand the root causes of pain and unhappiness across our country. As a physician, he believes that health involves more than tests and medications. It includes time to listen and focus on the whole person. As America’s Doctor, he took a similar approach to the nation.

After years of hearing stories from thousands of Americans, reviewing scientific data, and meeting researchers, Dr. Murthy found the sense of community among many Americans had eroded.

In the Surgeon General’s Parting Prescription Dr. Murthy shares his conclusions.

Americans can cultivate health, happiness, and fulfillment by rebuilding community, centered around relationships, service, and purpose.

“Today, we are faced with a profound choice: do we continue with the status quo, marked by pain, disconnection, and division?

Or do we choose a different path—one of joy, health, and fulfillment, where we turn toward each other instead of away from each other; where we choose love over fear; where we recognize community as the irreplaceable foundation for our well-being?

As I finish my tenure as Surgeon General, this is my parting prescription, my final wish for all of us: choose community.”

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy

relationships, service, and purpose create an “ecosystem of meaning and belonging”
that are essential for the “triad of fulfillment”.

Dr. Murthy

In contrast, modern culture has become increasingly centered on the triad of success defined by fame, money, and power. We need a cultural shift that moves us toward fulfillment.

In his Prescription, the Surgeon General details each element and how they impact our health:

A Prescription for Relationships

Relationships are the connections we build with friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and others. Healthy relationships where we feel seen and can be ourselves create joy and lessen stress.

When we lack meaningful relationships, we experience loneliness. A third of adults and half of young people experience loneliness.

Being socially disconnected increases our risk of heart disease, dementia, depression, anxiety, and premature death.

A Prescription for Service

Service includes actions we take that benefit others. But service can have profound benefits to the person serving.

Studies show that service reduces our risk of hypertension, stroke, early death, depression, and cognitive decline. In service, we feel more connected to others.

A Prescription for Purpose

Purpose is an overarching life aim guiding our decisions and actions. It’s not “what” we do, rather “why” we do it.

Purpose supports our physical and mental health. A high sense of individual purpose may reduce the risk of early death, stroke, lung disease, and dementia.

People with a powerful sense of purpose experience lower levels of depression and anxiety and greater resilience in the face of stress.

Dr. Murthy urged Americans to recenter their lives around relationships, service, and purpose – the triad of fulfillment. He calls for a shift in culture, policy, and programs to strengthen community as the critical path to health, happiness, and fulfillment.

Read the complete Parting Prescription for America here.
my-parting-prescription-for-americaDownload
The illustrations in this post were created by the AI feature of WordPress. They are not associated with Dr. Murthy’s article.

Coincidentally, Dr. Murthy shares a first name with Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy, an American entrepreneur and politician. He founded Roivant Sciences pharmaceutical company. Ramaswamy was a Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election. He withdrew his candidacy and supported Donald Trump.  Wikipedia

Exploring the HEART of Health

I’d love for you to follow this blog. I share information and inspiration to help you transform challenges into opportunities for learning and growth.

Add your name to the subscribe box to be notified of new posts by email. Click the link to read the post and browse other content. It’s that simple. No spam.

I enjoy seeing who is new to Watercress Words. When you subscribe, I will visit your blog or website. Thanks and see you next time.

Dr. Aletha

Dr. Vivek H. Murthy-Our “Family” Doctor

Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, serving since March 2021, addresses public health crises, including mental health, addiction, and social isolation, while advocating for healthier connections.The Surgeon General’s recent report highlights alcohol as the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the U.S.

Keep reading