Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal vaccine skeptic and activist lawyer, is confirmed as the nation’s health secretary. As secretary, Kennedy would be responsible for the sprawling $1.7 trillion U.S. Health and Human Services agency, which oversees food and hospital inspections, health insurance for roughly half of the country and vaccine recommendations. The 71-year-old, whose famous name and family tragedies have put him in the national spotlight since he was a child, has spent years airing his populist — and sometimes extreme — views in podcasts, TV interviews and speeches building his own quixotic brand. He made a long-shot bid for the presidency last year, switching from a Democrat to an Independent mid-run, and finally dropping out to throw his support behind Trump. The job finally gives him the kind of political power Kennedys have wielded for decades.