RFK Jr becomes US health secretary after lone Republican votes ‘no’

A fortnight ago, Evans appeared on a fringe conspiracy podcast called X22 Report and said he had lobbied Kennedy directly to create a US government website that would feature thousands of his recipes.

“I’ve spoken to Bobby Kennedy about this … The pitch is: why don’t we create a government website with all of these beautiful recipes, with or without my name associated with it. I’ve got no ego in this,” Evans said.

“Let’s bring in American chefs instead of an outsider, an Aussie … I don’t think the US people would take too kindly to an Aussie chef telling them that they’re doing things wrong. Let’s get American chefs on board.

“I can see it so clearly, and I’ve put the intention and the invitation out there to Bobby and others. Whether they take that up or not in this term, if they get through, we’ll wait and see.”

The comments were first reported by Media Matters in the US and Crikey in Australia.

While Democrats were united in their opposition to Kennedy, some of the largest medical organisations in the US were criticised for staying silent during the confirmation process and in the lead-up to Thursday’s (Friday AEDT) vote, including the powerful American Medical Association.

Caroline Kennedy, who was until recently the US ambassador to Australia, made a dramatic attempt to convince senators to oppose her cousin’s nomination as health secretary with a letter calling him a “predator” who had dragged family members into drug addiction in their youth.

“His basement, his garage, his dorm room were the centres of the action where drugs were available, and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks. It was often a perverse scene of despair and violence,” Caroline Kennedy wrote.

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RFK made a well-documented recovery from heroin addiction in the 1980s, and went on to become a lauded environmental lawyer who took on polluting corporations.

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