Democratic Colorado Governor Jared Polis remains wary but is "excited" by President-elect Donald Trump's decision to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist who was included on a 2021 list of the 12 people spreading the bulk of misinformation about vaccines online, was named as Trump's choice lead the country's top health agency on Thursday.
While a number of health experts were alarmed by Trump's pick and many Democrats appeared less than thrilled with the prospect of Kennedy as HHS secretary, Polis said that he was "excited" by the news.
In a post to X, formerly Twitter, the Democratic governor recalled how Kennedy helped him "defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado in 2019"—referring to vaccine requirements in schools for diseases like polio, which killed or paralyzed millions of adults and children before vaccination was widely available.
"I'm excited by the news that the President-Elect will appoint @RobertKennedyJr to @HHSGov," Polis wrote. "He helped us defeat vaccine mandates in Colorado in 2019 and will help make America healthy again by shaking up HHS and FDA [the Food and Drug Administration]."
"I hope he leans into personal choice on vaccines rather than bans (which I think are terrible, just like mandates) but what I'm most optimistic about is taking on big pharma and the corporate [agricultural] oligopoly to improve our health," he added.
Polis went on to share a selection of quotes from Kennedy, while urging his followers not to "mock him or disagree." The quotes expressed Kennedy's desire to lower prescription drug costs, eliminate "the nutrition department" of the FDA and "get off of pesticide-intensive agriculture."
"He will face strong special interest opposition on these, but I look forward to partnering with him to truly make America healthy again and I hope that we can finally make progress on these important issues," Polis wrote.
Kennedy responded to the governor's post with the following: "Thank you, Governor Polis. I look forward to working with you. Let's Make America Healthy Again."
Polis' praise for Kennedy was somewhat curious given that the governor bashed him and his "Make America Healthy Again" slogan less than three months ago, shortly after Kennedy suspended his independent presidential campaign and endorsed Trump.
"Not sure how bringing back Measles and bringing back Polio makes anyone more healthy ..." Polis wrote in an X post on August 25.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the office of Polis via email on Thursday night.
Eric Maruyama, spokesperson for the governor, said in an email to Newsweek on Thursday night that Polis "has not changed his view as a whole on RFK Jr. or on the Governor's previously stated concerns regarding some of RFK Jr's positions."
"While opposed to RFK's positions on a host of issues, including vaccines and banning fluoridation, he would appreciate seeing action on pesticides and efforts to lower prescription drug costs and if Trump is going to nominate someone like him then let them also take on soda, processed food, pesticides and heavy metals contamination," Maruyama wrote.
"But he definitely does not endorse actions that would lead to measles outbreaks and opposes unscientific propaganda that undermines confidence in the lifesaving impact of vaccines," he added. "The Governor himself was vaccinated last week with the flu vaccine and the COVID vaccine."
Polis, who received some criticism for enforcing vaccine mandates in his state at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, also insisted that vaccines were not his reason for his supporting Kennedy in an additional X post on Thursday, arguing that vaccination is essential for "public health and safety."
"Science must remain THE cornerstone of our nation's health policy and the science-backed decision to get vaccinated improves public health and safety," Polis wrote. "But if as a country we follow the science we would also be far more concerned about the impact of pesticides on public health, ag policy on nutrition, and the lack of access to prescription drugs due to drug high prices."
"This is why I am for a major shake-up in institutions like the FDA that have been barriers to lowering drug costs and promoting healthy food choices," he added. "Lest there by any doubt, I am vaccinated as is my family. I will hold any HHS Secretary to the same high standard of protecting and improving public health."
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