In a rare, no-holds-barred rebuke of President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Gov. Josh Green called Kennedy “the worst possible nominee for HHS secretary” and said Trump’s nomination of the anti-vaccine activist and former presidential candidate was “a cruel joke that President Trump is playing on the American people.”

Green made the comments on Al Sharpton’s PoliticsNation show over the weekend.

“There’s something wrong with this gentleman and all of his opinions are disruptive, which is why Donald Trump loves him,” Green said. “He simply traded his endorsement, of course, for this HHS nomination. But at the end of the day, it’s going to cause great harm to all of our health care system, but particularly to children.”

Trump announced the nomination on Nov. 13.

“The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country,” Trump posted on the social media platform X. “Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!”

While Democrats and health care professionals have expressed alarm at the appointment, the Republican response (aside from former vice president Mike Pence’s opposition to Kennedy’s previous pro-choice statements) generally has ranged from positive excitement to reserved optimism and an openness to learn more about Kennedy’s at-time controversial stands on the American health care system, processed foods and vaccines.

State Rep. Diamond Garcia, who serves on the House Committees on Human Services and Health and Homelessness, welcomed the nomination as "a bold and necessary step to address the serious problems within America’s healthcare system."

"For too long, we’ve witnessed corruption and inefficiencies in these large health agencies, undermining the trust of the American people," Garcia said. "RFK Jr. has been a steadfast advocate for transparency and accountability, and I firmly believe he will bring the much-needed reforms to clean up these institutions. 

"The people of America spoke loud and clear by electing President Trump, who campaigned on bringing RFK Jr. into a central role within his administration to overhaul and improve our healthcare system," he continued. "This nomination demonstrates President Trump’s commitment to delivering on that promise. As someone deeply invested in the health and well-being of Hawaii's residents, I am excited about the potential for collaboration with the incoming administration. Together, I look forward to making strides to not only address national issues but also to 'Make Hawaii Healthy Again.'"

To introduce Green's appearance on PoliticsNation, Sharpton contrasted Kennedy’s and Green’s visits to Samoa in 2019.

The Pacific island nation already experienced declining vaccination rates, due in part to a 2013 scandal involving improperly mixed vaccines, when Kennedy arrived to meet with anti-vaccine activists. Four months later, a measles outbreak sickened 5,700 people and resulted in 83 deaths.

Green, then lieutenant governor and a full-time physician, joined 70 other health care providers on a subsequent medical mission to administer vaccinations and educate the public.

“(The Samoan people) rely on good advice, but this person torpedoed and destroyed their confidence and (83) individuals died,” Green said. “We had to come in and save the situation. This is exactly what will happen if he’s confirmed as HHS Secretary.

“We already have some challenges in our nation to get vaccinations to communities, especially rural communities, underserved communities,” he continued. “When he throws this program under the bus or doesn’t show commitment to it, or spreads false information and false claims about vaccinations and their safety, millions of people will stop getting vaccinated, and then you’ll get surges in measles. You’ll get surges in polio. You’ll get surges in meningitis. And it will either kill young individuals and our children or leave them with neurologic damage.”

Green said Trump may not fully understand his nominee's beliefs and intentions.

“(Kennedy is) an anti-establishment type, ironically, and Donald Trump doesn’t know this,” Green said. “He’s a radical on the left side of some of these issues, too, which is very strange. Since they don’t vet anybody, a lot of these kinds of disconcerting nominations occur.”

Green addressed other beliefs Kennedy holds that could threatened public health, including his desire to end fluoridation of public water supplies (“When children don’t get any fluoride in their water, they end up with terrible, terrible oral health, which leads to delayed development,” Green said) and his promotion of raw, unpasteurized milk, which Green noted can potentially transmit H5N1 bird flu.

The governor acknowledged that Trump has the prerogative to appoint ideological allies to his cabinet but suggested Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, would be less of a threat in a field in which he has actual experience.

“That’s the important thing,” Green said. “President Trump has an obligation to appoint people that have experience, and RFK Jr. has no experience as a nurse, as a doctor, as a social worker. He’s never had a degree in public health. He’s simply a bombastic personality, and this time people are going to die if he’s confirmed.”

U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, was also critical of the Kennedy and the incoming president’s other controversial cabinet decisions during a Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing last week.

“The incoming administration poses a serious threat to undo all the progress that our witnesses have discussed with us today under the false pretense of making America healthy again,” Tokuda said. “President-elect Trump and RFK Jr. have committed to an extreme agenda that promises to hamstring our federal health agencies and their essential work to keep Americans safe.”

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.