Unpacking the Role of Secretary of Health and Human Services

By Adam Garrie, The Kennedy Beacon, with KB Staff

As legacy media continues disingenuous attacks on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Heath and Human Secretary (HHS), it drifts away from an opportunity to educate the public about the vital role.

It is also a powerful one: like other cabinet-level executive branch positions, the Secretary of HHS reports directly to the president.

The Secretary is tasked not only with overseeing a wide swath of governmental agencies, but also with making ultimate decisions that impact how we respond to public health emergencies; the food we eat; the medicines that are deemed to be safe; how best to ensure that children grow up in a healthy environment; and how science can work for rather than against the interests of the average man and woman.

If confirmed as HHS Secretary, Kennedy will also have the opportunity to cut the wasteful and inefficient departments within the major public health agencies. In this capacity, he likely will work alongside Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy who will jointly head President-elect Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

HHS is the government’s most influential branch, overseeing all aspects of public health, 17 agencies, and a budget (in 2024) of $1.7 trillion in mandatory funding, $144.3 billion of which comes with discretionary budget authority.

Each agency under the purview of the HHS has multiple sub-agencies. Additionally, there are multiple offices and programs operating under the auspices of many of these sub-agencies. Below is a graphic that diagrams what falls under the FDA, one of the largest agencies under the HHS.

Foundations of HHS

Today’s HHS traces its roots to the Federal Security Agency, established in 1939. In its modern iteration, the HHS grew out of The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), created in 1953.

The name HHS dates back to 1979 when educational oversight was transferred to the new Department of Education. The HHS continued to oversee Social Security until a stand-alone Social Security Administration (SSA) was established in 1995.

How an HHS Secretary Gets Confirmed

Once a president-elect formally nominates an individual to the position of Secretary of HHS, the appointee must first face scrutiny from one or more relevant Senate Committees. In the case of HHS Secretary, Kennedy will face the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) and the Senate Committee on Finance.

If these committees move to send the candidate to the final step in the confirmation process, Senators are required to vote ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ for Kennedy on the Senate floor. For Kennedy to be confirmed, 51 of the 100 Senators will need to vote him in.

But President-elect Trump can also intervene, bypassing the Senate by making a recess appointment for a period of under a year.