More than 15,000 doctors have signed a letter asking senators to vote against the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services.
“The health and well-being of 336 million Americans depends on HHS leadership that prioritizes science, evidence-based medicine, and strengthening the integrity of our public health system,” the letter reads. It’s dark. “RFK Jr. is not only unqualified to lead this important institution, he is clearly dangerous.”
The letter was posted online by the Healthcare Protection Committee, a physician advocacy group. In addition to well-documented anti-vaccine views and advocacy, the letter also includes unsubstantiated claims about a link between school shootings and antidepressants, and disproven claims about the effects of COVID-19. It also cites other conspiracy theories that Kennedy has actively promoted, including promoting a cure.
“This appointment is a slap in the face to all medical professionals who have spent their lives protecting patients from preventable disease and death,” the letter said.
President Kennedy is meeting with Republican and Democratic senators at the U.S. Capitol for his confirmation hearing, but a date has not yet been set. If all Senate Democrats vote against Kennedy’s confirmation, he would need all but three Republican votes.
President Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment on the letter. Asked by text about the growing opposition from doctors and public health organizations to Trump’s intention to nominate Kennedy, Kennedy’s press secretary on the Trump transition team, Katie Miller, said the backlash was a response to advocacy groups. He dismissed the incident as “just a smear” and “defrauding donations.” .
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be confirmed and those who spend their time undermining him will have no place and no voice at HHS,” Miller said in a text message. “Good luck.”
The letter and a corresponding campaign urging medical professionals to contact their senators and the American Medical Association are just the latest reactions from doctors and public health advocates to Kennedy’s controversial selection.
Protect Our Care, a liberal nonprofit that advocates for the preservation of the Affordable Care Act, also featured President Kennedy’s 2019 trip to Samoa this week before the measles outbreak that killed 83 people, most of them children. The company launched a campaign featuring a report and digital advertisements. Josh Green, the governor of Hawaii and a physician, wrote in the New York Times this week that vaccine misinformation spread by President Kennedy contributed to the outbreak in Samoa, and appointed him to the Department of Health and Human Services. He warned that doing so would put public health at risk.
In a November news release, Community Catalyst, a health care consumer advocacy group, called Kennedy “wholly unqualified and a dangerous selection,” and Public Citizen, a nonprofit progressive consumer rights group, said Kennedy was “If you’re put in a position of authority over health, you’re going to put people’s lives at risk,” he said. ”
On Wednesday, Greene attended a news conference opposing Kennedy, hosted by 314 Action, a progressive political action committee that specializes in electing scientists, along with other members of Congress with backgrounds in public health.
Kennedy’s allies and a dedicated PAC, American Values 2024, have expressed opposition to Kennedy’s election to drug companies in an effort to silence him and thwart his efforts to make America healthy. It is assumed that it was orchestrated by
The Health Care Protection Board receives no funding from the pharmaceutical industry or for-profit medical corporations, but it has actively opposed efforts by drug companies to establish prescription drug affordability commissions at the state level.
“We are definitely not friends with drug companies, and drug companies are certainly not friends with us,” said Dr. Rob Davidson, the commission’s executive director and a Michigan emergency room physician. .
Davidson said he and the thousands of other letter signers are motivated by patients.
“President Kennedy poses a clear and present danger,” he said.
