Shortly following his inauguration into his second term of presidency on Jan. 20, President Trump began appointments for his cabinet members in the White House. While some have been approved as necessary by the Senate, others are awaiting their vote.
Most notably, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an advocate for the anti-vaccine movement, was nominated and confirmed as the Health and Human Services Secretary. In a previously released statement recorded by USA Today, one of Kennedy’s main policy changes includes “banning hundreds of food additives and chemicals, such as food dyes.” Said food additives have already been banned across most European countries, and it seems the U.S. is following suit. The Health and Human Services Secretary has also called for “getting ultra-processed foods out of school lunches as part of a goal to reduce the incidence of diet-related chronic diseases.” One of his more controversial takes is to put a stop to the “FDA’s war on public health,” or in other words, encourage the American people to consume raw milk previously advised against by the FDA. He is fully supported by Trump in his endeavors, with NPR reporting that Trump “promised to let Kennedy ‘go wild on health’ during the [presidential] campaign.”
As for the office of Attorney General, it is now held by Pam Bondi, former Florida Attorney General from 2011-2019. CNN reports that in her first days in office, Bondi is “expected to order a review of the cases brought against President Donald Trump, including those undertaken by prosecutors in New York who successfully defeated him in court.” In addition, she has stated she will be creating a Weaponization Working Group to “review law enforcement actions enacted under the Biden administration for any examples of politicized justice.” Very much aligned with the Republican party, Bondi begins her term dismantling any legal allegations against President Trump made during his trial for 34 felonies in 2024.
Still in the beginning stages of the President’s term, the United States has yet to see the effects of these new office appointments. Five more cabinet members must be approved of by the Senate, with the remaining votes expected to take place in the near future.
