This week, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services. While RFK does not have much of a history with anything health related, he has a track-record of speaking out against large corporations, and if his nomination is confirmed, he seeks to “stop the revolving door between industry and government”.
To us as public choice students, it should not come as a surprise that “Washington’s lobbyists are stunned Trump chose RFK Jr” given what we know about the Stigler-Peltzman capture theory we discussed in class. Within the context of RFK’s nomination, the Stigler-Peltzman theory predicts that the Senate may block this nomination in favor of the industries that RFK’s policies would restrict.
Capture occurs here since RFK is proposing policy that would impose significant costs on industries like processed food manufacturers and fast-food chains. Due to these proposed policies, these sectors actively invest in lobbying because they have a strong incentive to safeguard their narrow financial interests and exert political pressure on the government by potentially withholding campaign contributions or endorsements for re-election. In this case, acquiring a block against RFK by the Senate ensures profit for the firms.
So, given this knowledge on public choice, I am intrigued to see whether the Senate will block RFK, or if Trump will be able to navigate around the Senate's approval.
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