Ave RFK Jr., we salute you.

Once blacklisted and ostracized for his principled stances, the attorney and author performs a miracle of overcoming adversity.

If RFK, Jr.’s appointment to become Secretary of Health and Human Services is confirmed by the Senate, this New Sheriff In Town will be in a position to make life uniquely uncomfortable for the legion of captured bureaucrats who infest the many agencies that will be obliged to report to him.

I worry this may be a big if, as I imagine the Vaccine Cartel is currently pulling every string, calling every favor, and even resorting to threats and blackmail in order to prevent RFK, Jr.’s confirmation. It reminds me of the treacherous adversity Cicero faced when he made the bold decision to prosecute Gaius Verres on the charge of misconduct, especially extortion, during his term as governor of Sicily (73-71 BC). Cicero was a lawyer of the equestrian class. Verres was one of the most powerful patricians in Rome with extensive connections in the Senate and every other institution, not to mention nefarious characters who could procure an assassin for him.

RFJ, Jr.s appointment to HHS Secretary may be the greatest turning of the tables story in U.S. political history, and I almost wish Anthony Fauci were still head of NIAID so that he could meet his new boss in January.

Despite suffering from spasmodic dysphonia, RFK, Jr. has proven to be one of America’s strongest voices in defending our Constitutional Republic from public health officials and politicians wielding emergency power. In rousing speeches reminiscent of his father’s famous University of Capetown address in 1966, he has articulated why we should never allow our constitution to be compromised by fallible men who promise to keep us safe.

For decades, he worked as an environmental attorney to protect the natural world from corporate industrial polluters. He has been especially troubled by the contamination of our waterways with hazardous waste, including mercury. In 2005 he became concerned about a mercury compound used as a preservative in childhood vaccines, which prompted him to conduct a thorough investigation of vaccine safety in general. He quickly realized that the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act had granted vaccine manufacturers too much immunity from civil and criminal liability for injuries or deaths caused by their products. In the absence of legal liability, the only thing that could possibly regulate their conduct was scrutiny from a public figure like him.

The vast majority of men of his social status would have concluded that taking on the Vaccine Cartel was far more daunting than David taking on Goliath, and that doing so was a surefire way to personal ruin. It took a man of RFK, Jr.s extraordinary qualities—bold, energetic, and diligent combined with a love of adventure, a streak of derring-do, and measure of devil may care—to enter the water with this leviathan.

Sure enough, his critical questioning of vaccine safety was not met with debate, but with vitriolic, ad hominem attacks and accusations of being a conspiracy theorist. Implied in these attacks is that no one should dare even question the safety of vaccines.

After being in the wilderness of media blackouts and social ostracism for decades, RFK, Jr. has, with true grit, made his way to the center stage of federal authority with a clear mandate to promote the health and well-being of the American people. In terms of a man overcoming adversity, his story is one for the ages.