An Anti-Vaccine Zealot and Conspiracy Theorist, Kennedy Poses a Threat to Health Care and Public Health
Washington, D.C. – Today, Donald Trump took a devastating step towards undermining the health care of millions of Americans and the public health of our nation by nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy is an anti-vaccine zealot and conspiracy theorist with no experience or qualifications for any role in managing our nation’s health care, least of all leading the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy’s anti-vaccination beliefs alone could put millions of American lives at risk as vaccine skepticism has grown in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic – which was fueled by the very disinformation and conspiracy theories RFK Jr. has peddled for years.
On the campaign trail this year alone, RFK Jr. endorsed dangerous anti-vaccination beliefs, spread baseless lies and conspiracy theories about fluoride in the water supply, and promised to stop research on drug development and infectious diseases for eight years. Recently, he proposed a plan that includes radical ideas like slashing funding for the Food and Drug Administration in half and firing over 600 people from the National Institutes of Health. Kennedy’s ideas are completely detached from reality and if he is confirmed, it would be a matter of life or death for countless Americans.
In response, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued a statement:
“If RFK Jr. becomes Secretary of HHS, millions of American lives will be at risk. Full stop. The selection of Kennedy to lead HHS is a devastating choice for the health and well-being of the American people, especially children. The consequences of this nomination will touch nearly every household in the nation. Not only does he have a long history of pushing dangerous and outlandish anti-vaccine and other health-related conspiracy theories, but he will undoubtedly support MAGA efforts to increase health care costs and slash coverage by repealing the Affordable Care Act, slashing Medicaid and repealing measures to lower drug prices for seniors.
“The American people deserve a leader at HHS who believes in science, who believes in vaccines, and who is committed to building on the progress we have made since the passage of the Affordable Care Act – not someone who will put health care for millions at risk. To put it plainly, RFK Jr. is deeply unqualified, deeply unserious, and deeply dangerous. This nomination would be a joke if it wasn’t so deadly serious and every United States Senator who cares about the health of their constituents should oppose it.”