One of the most prominent and publicly-recognized members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet was missing from Tuesday’s meeting at the White House.
Health and Human Service Secretary Robert F. Kennedy was glaring absent from the table at the president’s marathon sit down in the Cabinet Room.
Kennedy was on international travel, a spokesperson said.
‘Due to long-planned international travel, the Secretary couldn’t attend today’s Cabinet meeting,’ an HHS spokesperson told the Daily Mail.
‘However, he remains in constant contact with HHS leadership and today took decisive action by declaring a public health emergency for the State of Texas.’
No additional details were given about whether the trip was on official or unofficial business.
Trump held the sixth Cabinet meeting of his administration in a marathon session that went nearly two hours.
President Donald Trump held his sixth Cabinet meeting on Tuesday
Other prominent secretaries – including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – were present to chat with the president about the work of his administration.
Kennedy is one of the most notorious and controversial cabinet members.
His controversial views on vaccines has led to some accusing him of spreading misinformation on the issue.
In fact several leading medical groups are suing Kennedy over changes to federal COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.
The suit – which includes the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians and the American Public Health Association – was filed in federal court and asks for a reversal of Kennedy’s decision to remove pregnant women and healthy children from the COVID-19 vaccine schedule.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was on international travel and missed the Cabinet meeting
President Donald Trump has been supportive of his HHS secretary
Kennedy has pushed a Make America Healthy Again agenda – a play off Trump’s campaign slogan of Make America Great Again.
But even that plan came under fire when the news outlet NOTUS reported that seven of the more than 500 studies cited in the HHS report – which decried America’s food supply, pesticides and prescription drugs – did not appear to have ever been published.
The administration shrugged it off as ‘formatting issues.’
President Trump has been supportive of his health secretary.
Kennedy is also moving to ban dyes in food and fluoride in water.
The son of the late Attorney General Robert Kennedy made his own presidential bid as a Democrat before dropping out of the contest and endorsing Trump.