--- title: "Man Who Bragged About Having a Literal Brain Worm to Be Appointed Head of the US Health Department" description: "A political scion who has bragged about having a brain worm is slated to be the United States' next secretary of Health and Human Services." date: "2024-11-14" modified: "2024-11-14" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/rfk-jr-brain-worm-hhs-trump" categories: - "Brain" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "anti-vaxxer" - "donald trump" - "politics" - "rfk jr" --- # Man Who Bragged About Having a Literal Brain Worm to Be Appointed Head of the US Health Department ![A political scion who has bragged about having a brain worm is slated to be the United States' next secretary of Health and Human Services.]() *\Image: Chip Somodevilla via Getty\* A political scion who bragged about having a brain worm — yes, we are [horribly serious]() about that — is slated to become the United States' next secretary of Health and Human Services. As [*Politico* reports](), president-elect Donald Trump is expected to select former opponent Robert F. Kennedy, Jr to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, an apparent back-scratching situation after the onetime candidate dropped out, bent the knee, and [endorsed the real estate mogul]() earlier this year. Indeed, Trump said during an October campaign rally that he promised the [anti-vaxxer Masshole]() he could "[go wild]()" as head of the department overseeing food and medicines — an alarming proposal the former president seems likely to follow through on now that he's [putting together his second cabinet](). Beyond being a dedicated "[vaccine skeptic]()," exposés about Kennedy's many bizarre misadventures that emerged during his failed fringe candidacy have shown time and again that this may be the very last man who should be overseeing the nation's sprawling healthcare apparatus. Earlier this year, the [*New York Times* revealed]() via documents from the HHS hopeful's divorce proceedings that he not only ate enough fish to give himself mercury poisoning, but also claimed a neurologist told him a dark spot on his brain scans likely came from a "[worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died]()." During the 2012 deposition, Kennedy — who speaks with a [bit of an impediment]() due to his neurological issues — admitted that he "clearly" has "cognitive problems." Nevertheless, his [campaign insisted at the time]() that he was in good health despite his attested brain fog, mercury poisoning, and brain worms. Incredibly, Kennedy's eccentricities don't end there. As [*Futurism* recounted]() earlier this election season, the political failson is at the center of a number of bizarre stories involving animals, including [his own braggadocious story]() about [dumping the carcass of a spoiling baby bear cub]() in Manhattan's Central Park and a [similarly queasy incident]() involving a dead whale. Those two anecdotes don't even begin to cover Kennedy's credibility issues, which also include at least one [sexual assault allegation]() from a former babysitter for his family and a more recent [consensual affair with a much younger journalist]() — but given that there are [similar allegations about the president-elect]() as well, those may unfortunately end up being less salient than the decomposing bear and the brain worms. Somehow, RFK Jr isn't the least unhealthy person being considered for the [notoriously germophobic]() president-elect's cabinet. That distinction goes to *Fox News* host and reported [Department of Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth](), who claims he [hasn't washed his hands in over a decade](). **More on freaky political tidings:** [*MAGA Fans Seem to Think AI Videos of Barron Trump Singing Patriotic Songs Are Totally Real*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()