A month into Donald Trump’s presidency, one thing has been clear: Anything goes.

Last week, that sentiment was proven again. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has made past statements discrediting vaccines and pushed false narratives around AIDS, was sworn in as secretary of the Health and Human Services (HHS).

But who is he? What can he actually do in his role? And will his past rhetoric influence his policy decisions?

Here’s what his controversial past could mean for the country’s future, including food regulation, disease surveillance and HIV criminalization laws.

What his role entails

Kennedy oversees HHS, which is composed of federal agencies like the CDC, FDA, National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

But he’s already working with a downsized team –– the Trump administration laid off 1,300 workers with the CDC, including all 50 first-year officers of the agency’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS). The EIS trains healthcare professionals to investigate and respond to public health emergencies.

Kennedy has influence over a CDC advisory committee that serves a critical role in implementing vaccine policy. While he assured before his confirmation that he wouldn’t interfere with the committee, he said on Fox News after being sworn in that its members “have severe, severe conflicts of interest, and that's not good for our country.”

He’s also been vocal about overhauling the FDA. While many parties agree there needs to be changes to the agency, experts say Kennedy’s involvement could worsen the situation.

A large chunk of the FDA’s budget is made up of funding from companies who pay fees to have their products reviewed. While Kennedy wants to end this practice out of concern it might encourage the FDA to give leniency to some companies, experts told the New York Times that the lost funds should be taken over by congress. If the FDA’s budget is slashed with no solution, it could impact public safety.

The past is now

Kennedy’s past comments on public health have raised an eyebrow or two…or a few million.

For one, he’s pushed AIDS denialism narratives. He has falsely linked poppers –– a recreational party drug commonly used in the queer community –– to being a cause of AIDS. It’s not; HIV causes AIDS.

“One hundred percent of the people who died, the first thousand who had AIDS, were people who were addicted to poppers,” Kennedy told a group of supporters in 2023.

Though he wrote in his 2021 book attacking Anthony Fauci that he is neutral on whether HIV causes AIDS, he later writes that it might not be the sole cause and cites the work of a notorious AIDS denialist Peter Duesberg. Kennedy’s engagement with AIDS denialism has cast concerns over his “neutral” stance, especially as he oversees the National Institutes of Health, which encompasses the Office of AIDS Research.

His rhetoric isn’t just political theater –– he’s impacted global health policy with his power.

Kennedy is the founder and former chairman of the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense. A Kenyan physician on the board of the organization’s Africa chapter stated at a conference last year that contraception and health education were part of a plot to diminish the fertility of Africans.

Children’s Health Defense promoted a book that raised doubts about the connection between HIV and AIDS.

Kennedy also traveled to Samoa to publicly question the safety of measles vaccines in 2019. A few months after his visit, a measles outbreak occurred.

Maxx Fenning, executive director of PRISM, told OutSFL that Kennedy’s record of spreading misinformation indicates his policies won’t be rooted in science.

“He is now in a really significant position of influence over the discourse around health in the United States, [his role] is not small potatoes by any means,” Fenning said. “I'm fearful that the harmful rhetoric he's using will be taken more seriously and with perhaps a larger grain of salt.”

What the future holds

Even if the secretary faces roadblocks in implementing some of his more controversial plans, Fenning said he’s concerned about whether Kennedy’s rhetoric and power alone could influence other progressive fights to diminish.

Thirty-four states have laws that criminalize people with HIV, including Florida. Fenning said there have been attempts to decriminalize HIV in Florida for years, but none have succeeded.

“I am worried about what this sort of heightened rhetoric and stigmatizing rhetoric about folks living with HIV might do to that effort,” he said.

The previously-mentioned cuts to the EIS means there’s less confidence in disease surveillance, experts say. His hesitant stance on vaccines could also lead to outbreaks of preventable diseases, similar to the one in Samoa.

His vision for an FDA overhaul and reducing additives in ultra-processed foods might not make it as far as he wants. Medical expert Céline Gounder told CBS that the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency have more control over food health standards than the HHS.

Kennedy does, however, have some input on food package labeling to indicate the health of some products.

Only time will tell what Kennedy’s leadership will influence. For now, Fenning said it’s time to cut through the misinformation and focus on education.

“I've often viewed education as just a really powerful force for pushing back against hatred, for understanding the world around us and understanding people within it,” Fenning, whose PRISM organization focuses on community education, said. “That's really the task at hand, as we work to dismantle some of the damage of RFK, is to ramp up the volume and efficacy of real science-backed education.”