US Health secretary says he used to snort cocaine off ‘toilet seats’

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he is not afraid of germs, recalling that he used to snort cocaine off toilet seats. He added that he continued attending addiction recovery meetings during the Covid-19 pandemic despite quarantine restrictions.

Kennedy Jr. is widely known for his anti-vaccine stance and for challenging mainstream medical and scientific consensus.

“I mean for me, I said this when I came in, ‘I don’t care what happens, I’m going to a meeting every day’,” Kennedy said while speaking about his recovery on Theo Von’s podcast This Past Weekend, which aired on Thursday. “I’m not scared of a germ, you know. I used to snort cocaine off of toilet seats. I know this disease will kill me if I don’t treat it, which means going to meetings everyday, it’s just bad for my life. For me, it was survival.”

Kennedy Jr., the nephew of former US President John F. Kennedy, has previously said he began using drugs in the months after his father, Robert F. Kennedy Sr., was assassinated during the 1968 presidential campaign.

In 1983, he was arrested at Rapid City airport, in Iowa, for possession of 0.2 grams of heroin that had been found in his carry-on luggage. After pleading guilty, Kennedy Jr was sentenced to two years’ probation, ordered to attend Narcotics Anonymous, and required to complete 1,500 hours of community service.

Following an unsuccessful independent presidential bid, he joined Trump’s 2024 campaign, with the latter vowing to let him “go wild” on healthcare policy. Kennedy Jr. became US Health Secretary in February 2025.

He founded the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense and has gained prominence in the US for questioning the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccinations, promoting the claim that vaccines are linked to autism. He was also a vocal critic of the Covid-19 response measures recommended by the World Health Organization, including the strict lockdowns and rapid rollout of vaccines.

Despite this, Kennedy denies being opposed to vaccination, noting that his own children are immunized. During his confirmation hearings, he stated that he simply advocates for stricter studies and safety testing of vaccines.