Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally on Aug. 23 in Arizona.Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — One of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s longtime dreams seems to be coming true: He’s on a potentially winning president’s team, and he’s pretty sure he’ll get a top-ranking job out of it. 

But his ascension in Trump’s orbit has triggered alarm from leaders in the industry and even from some former GOP health officials who fear that Kennedy’s history of vaccine skepticism could delegitimize Trump’s genuine health care goals — or eclipse his previous health care wins, like a record-breaking vaccine effort. His remark that he is “going to be deeply involved in helping to choose the people who can run FDA and NIH and CDC’’ also has stirred nervous speculation.

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That behind-the-scenes debate broke into public view at the STAT Summit this week, when former Trump White House official Joe Grogan immediately brought Kennedy’s name into a conversation about Trump’s health policy goals.   

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