Trump had indicated during campaigning that he planned to hand the portfolio to the nephew of the assassinated President John F. Kennedy.
After Kennedy abandoned his independent presidential bid in August and endorsed the Republican nominee, Trump said he would let him “go wild” with health and food policy, alarming many experts.
Often known as RFK jnr, Kennedy has dismayed other members of one of America’s most famous Democratic families.
Like other picks for Trump’s Cabinet, he was once an outspoken critic of the New York real estate tycoon, reportedly calling him “a terrible human being” in a text message in July, according to the New Yorker magazine.
He was previously a well-respected climate lawyer and was widely reported as a leading candidate for chief of the Environmental Protection Agency under former Democratic President Barack Obama, before ultimately being passed over.
Kennedy’s presidential run featured some bizarre moments – including his claim to have recovered from a parasitic brain worm and an admission that he dumped a dead bear cub in New York’s Central Park after initially picking it up to “skin” it.
