Dr. Deborah Birx, President-elect Donald Trump’s Covid response coordinator during his first term, said Sunday she expects that the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Trump’s second-term Cabinet will lead to illuminating discussions about public health.

Trump last week settled on Kennedy to serve in his Cabinet as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services. The choice, which is subject to Senate confirmation, immediately sparked controversy because of Kennedy’s history of challenging the safety of vaccines and linking vaccination to autism, among other things.

“When he talks about transparency,” Birx told host Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” “I’m actually excited that in a Senate hearing he would bring forward his data and the questions that come from the senators would bring forth their data.”

Birx saw a real advantage in having a highly public discussion about complex topics.

“What I know for sure,” she said, “is he’s a very smart man who can bring his data and his evidence base forward, and we can have a discussion that many Americans believe already is a problem. ... I know the members have incredible staffers who will bring great questions from their constituents and that hearing would be a way for Americans to really see the data.”

Brennan noted that a pet cause of Kennedy’s is making America’s food healthier, including by getting rid of dyes and additives, in order to combat obesity and disease. Birx saw much to like in that approach to nutrition.

“This is the reality of America and so what I’m hoping is he brings his transparency for all Americans and we really start to tackle these issues one-by-one-by-one,” she said. “I think everybody across America wants to have healthy kids that they know will grow up and not end up with the complications of diabetes or heart disease.”

Birx’s title from February 2020 through the end of Trump’s first term was White House coronavirus response coordinator, reporting directly to then-Vice President Mike Pence. Birx also served under both Trump and former President Barack Obama as the nation’s global AIDS coordinator.

When it comes to the Department of Health and Human Services, Birx said she thought that Kennedy would need “a management person at his side, a chief of staff” to help him lead a department that manages all the areas that fall under the umbrella of public health.

“HHS is probably one of our most complicated departments,” she said.