The anti-vaccine activist and President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health comes from a famous political family.

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee would oversee agencies that regulate food, vaccines and medicine and were instrumental during the pandemic.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a prominent antivaccine activist and former independent presidential candidate, has been nominated to lead HHS, where he would oversee significant aspects of the nation’s public health policy.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and his wife Cheryl Hines arrive before President-elect Donald Trump speaks during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The nearly $2 trillion agency administers health-insurance programs for millions of Americans, approves medications and oversees vaccine safety.

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Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was building up a following with his anti-vaccine nonprofit group, Children’s Health Defense, and becoming one of the world’s most influential spreaders of fear and distrust around vaccines.

The choice will roil many public health experts after his years of touting debunked claims that vaccines cause autism.

Donald Trump’s choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services spooked investors who worry what Kennedy would do.

Kennedy junior is not remotely qualified for the role,” said Dr Peter Lurie, president of the Centre for Science in Public Interest, a public-health watchdog, in a statement, adding that “nominating an anti-vaxxer like Kennedy to HHS is like putting a Flat Earther at the head of NASA .