President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services has stunned some in the medical field, with one doctor saying the nomination was “nuts.”

Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, has said he is not “anti-vaccine.” But he has made many claims about vaccines that have been questioned by major health organizations. One such widely dismissed claim is that vaccines are linked to autism.

He has also suggested that “fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.” The American Dental Association has said it stands by its recommendation that fluoride be added to tap water.

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The group said the study cited by Kennedy had “important limitations,” the review was not intended to show cause and effect, and only considered exposure to fluoride at levels twice that found in drinking water.

Dr. Pat Basu, a former White House adviser and Stanford physician, said Kennedy’s nomination to lead America’s top health agencies is “absolutely insane.”

Basu quoted a World Health Organization report which claimed that modern vaccines have saved 154 million lives worldwide.

“Mr. Kennedy’s statements about vaccines are incredibly dangerous, and they could, frankly, reverse a century of progress,” Basu said. “They could take us back to 1924. The bottom line is that vaccines are one of the greatest, safest and most effective inventions in modern history. They have saved more than 100 million lives in the last 50 years, half of them infants . “

Kennedy has discussed reforming leading health agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration. Kennedy said the FDA’s “war on public health is coming to an end.”

He alleged that the FDA aggressively suppressed “psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean food, sunshine, exercise, nutrients, and anything else that promotes human health and cannot be patented by Pharma.”

Basu agreed there are issues that need to be addressed, but said Kennedy is taking the wrong approach.

“The difference between necessary reforms and extreme measures or proposals is huge,” he said. “Shutting down immunization programs, shutting down the FDA because their job is to regulate drug manufacturers is, let’s put it this way, we’re not talking about shutting down the Department of Defense because they have defense contractors for procurement, right? So look, in typical conspiracy fashion is this an attempt to tie a potential half-truth to an obvious lie.”

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Basu cited the consumption of raw milk as an example of Kennedy’s positions being dangerous.

“Drinking raw milk, the reason we banned it was because it can cause severe illness, severe diarrhea,” he said. “And unfortunately, the largest and most vulnerable population is children, infants. So getting rid of these public health initiatives, whether it’s drinking raw milk all the way to getting rid of immunization programs, is dangerous.”

Prominent Democrat who stands behind Kennedy

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he was “thrilled” that Trump had appointed Kennedy to lead HHS. Polis said he agreed with Kennedy that Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration need an overhaul. He also said he’s optimistic Kennedy will take on big pharma.

Polis later issued a statement clarifying his position that he supports vaccines and medical science more broadly.

“If we as a country follow the science, we would also be much more concerned about the effects of pesticides on public health, agricultural policies for nutrition and the lack of access to prescription drugs due to high drug prices. That is why I am in favor of a major shakeup in institutions such as the FDA which has been an obstacle to lowering drug costs and promoting healthy food choices.