Following President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Robert F Kennedy Jr as the secretary of the Health and Human Services, questions about his qualifications surfaced. Many wondered if the former Democrat was a doctor, as is usually the case with the HSS secretary appointees. However, RFK Jr is not a doctor – he was an environmental lawyer before becoming a politician.
Announcing the 70-year-old's nomination, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, that it was the most important role in his cabinet. "The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country," he wrote.
RFK Jr Educational Background
Growing up in Massachusetts, RFK Jr attended the Palfrey High School in Boston. He graduated from Palfrey in June 1972 and undertook a Bachelor's degree course in American history and literature at Harvard University. He then joined the University of Virginia School of Law for a Juris Doctor degree. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1982 and went on to pursue a Master of Laws from Pace University – a degree he completed in 1987.
RFK Jr struggled with drug abuse after the assassination of his father, former United States Senator and Attorney General, Robert F Kennedy in 1963. It continued in his late school years and he was arrested for the possession of marijuana at the age of 16 in Massachusetts' Barnstable. RFK Jr continued to abuse drugs in his early adulthood and was known as a "drug dealer" during his Harvard days.
Kennedy was sworn in as the assistant district attorney of Manhattan in 1982 but resigned from the post after failing the New York bar exam a year later. After that, he served two years on probation starting September 1983 for possession of heroin. His probation ended a year early after overcoming 14 years of heroin use through rehabilitation, as Kennedy revealed later.
RFK Jr. founded the environmental litigation group -Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic – in 1987 and worked there for three decades. In 2000, he co-founded the environmental law firm Kennedy and Madonna with lawyer, Kevin Madonna. In 2016, he briefly joined the law firm, Morgan & Morgan.