Shamita Basu

Which it sounds like even to this day, he really does seek out meetings, 12-step meetings.

And that's part of his daily practice, in fact.

Which, just to say, in his environmental activism, a lot of it was more aligned with left-leaning, progressive, liberal ideology.

I remember there was talk, there were rumblings when Obama was heading into office that he might be appointed EPA head, for example, right?

Which did not seem like, at the time, a role that he was unqualified for.

He had a really strong track record.

I mean, what did Kennedy have to say when you pressed him on these issues exactly?

The company that he's keeping in this administration and the ways in which they conflict with some of his past stated values.

Well, I read that and I thought, well, you have to start from a point, though, of actually actively not liking the girl for this metaphor to work, right?

Which is really the place where he seems to have started on Trump.

Mm hmm.

So now that he is health secretary, which just to say, I mean, you point this out in the piece, just how powerful of a role it really is.

He oversees one out of every four dollars in the federal budget.

He's in charge of about 17 percent of the nation's economy in this role.

Not to mention the hugely influential impact of health policy, public health policy in America.

I mean, what has he managed to accomplish so far in this role?

What have seemed to be his biggest priorities?

What did he tell you about how he feels about what he's accomplished so far?

Yeah.

And I mean, this is a huge part of not only what Kennedy is doing at HHS, but also just who he is and what he believes.