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RFK Jr.’s Nomination in Shambles Following Hearings on Capitol Hill 

As RFK Jr. lies his way through his confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill, doctors, nurses experts, and advocates have rallied across the country in opposition to his nomination to lead HHS. For years, Kennedy has spouted dangerous anti-vaccination beliefs — including the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism — and he has spread baseless lies that have had a direct impact on people’s health. He has said “There is no vaccine that is safe or effective” and called to defund lifesaving research on treatments and cures to deadly diseases. He lacks basic knowledge about the programs he would be responsible for leading, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. Headlines from Alaska to Maine show just how dangerous RFK Jr. is for the health and well-being of the American people. 

HEADLINES

ALASKA

Anchorage Daily News: Opinion: RFK Jr.’s Anti-vaccine Rhetoric Is a Threat to Public Health. Alaska’s Children Deserve Better

• It is as clear in our state’s history as it is in the patients we see every day — when our communities are vaccinated, they are healthier. Unfortunately, over the years, much misinformation has been said about the safety of vaccines. 
• Kennedy is a longtime anti-vaccine activist and has made repeated false claims about vaccines. Almost universally, health experts are concerned that he, his rhetoric and his proposed policies will contribute to lower vaccination rates and lead to disease outbreaks. 

IOWA

Des Moines Register: Letter to the Editor: Fmr State Rep John Forbes: If Kennedy Takes Over Health Department, Americans Will Die

• If President Donald Trump gets his way, the head of HHS, the agency designed to “improve the health, safety, and well-being of America,” would be a man so opposed to facts and science, that our nation may face a deadly resurgence of childhood illnesses like polio and measles.

Iowa City Press Citizen: Letter to the Editor: Oppose Withdrawal From the World Health Organization and HHS Nominations

• Furthermore, President Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for the top health-related position in U.S. government, Secretary of Health and Human Services. Mr. Kennedy has a long history of fighting the development and availability of vaccines and has said he will steer federal research dollars away from infectious disease. David Weldon, nominated to head the Centers for Disease Control, is another vaccine critic.

MAINE

Portland Press Herald: Opinion: RFK Jr.’s Confirmation Will Threaten Mainers’ Lives

• We know the kind of damage that will be done and the lives that will be lost if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is put in charge of our health care system because we’ve seen it in action. Kennedy has a well-documented history of opposing lifesaving vaccines, and he has pledged to stop funding research for treatments and cures for deadly diseases. Yet Kennedy is nominated to run the Department of Health and Human Services — and Sen. Collins has said it’s premature to take a position on his nomination.

Bangor Daily News: Opinion: Robert Kennedy Is the Wrong Person for the Job When People’s Health Is on the Line

• Not only is Kennedy inexperienced, but his ideas are dangerous and antithetical to the purpose of HHS — keeping Americans healthy. 
• Under his leadership, it could lead to a deadly resurgence in childhood illnesses like measles and polio. America would become deeply unprepared to respond to serious health threats and it would impede the development of new treatments for serious diseases like cancer. A delay in finding treatments or cures could mean life or death for thousands. 

Maine Public: Protect Our Care Maine Urges U.S. Senators to Oppose RFK Jr. Nomination

• Shagoury said vaccines are important for the health of Maine people and for the state’s economy. “If there were an outbreak of a major disease like measles or the one that really terrifies me is polio, imagine the impact that would have on our tourist industry,” he said. Graham said Kennedy is completely unqualified for the position, due to his lack of medical and governmental experience.

Maine Morning Star: State Lawmakers Say Health Secretary Nominee RFK Jr. Would Threaten Public Health in Maine

• The pair, who both sit on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, criticized Kennedy’s lack of medical or public health experience, plans to cut funding to research organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, and warned Mainers that his appointment would have adverse effects on the state’s public health.

Spectrum News: Group of Maine Lawmakers Protest Potential RFK Jr. Cabinet Nomination

• Graham said she genuinely worries about extreme measures such as vaccines being outlawed under Kennedy. “We cannot go back to having a world of infectious disease, and the bottom line is, vaccines work.”

MICHIGAN

The ‘Gander: Opinion: RFK Jr.’s opposition to vaccines disqualifies him from leading the nation’s health agency

• HHS is an agency designed to “improve the health, safety, and well-being of America.” Leaving this important department in the hands of someone who opposes vaccines would put Michiganders and our fellow Americans in danger of a deadly resurgence of illnesses like polio and measles.  The risk is real. 

MINNESOTA

KVRR: Attorney General Keith Ellison and Protect Our Care Minnesota Raise Concerns Over RFK Jr. Nomination

• Ellison believes Kennedy’s priorities are not for Minnesotans. “Yes there are great things we can do to make it even better, but we sure don’t want to make it worse. And that is why I’m on call with you all today because I believe it is all true, personnel is policy. And who you put in office will have a lot to do with how the policy is carried out,” said Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General.

KFGO: Minnesota AG, Healthcare Advocacy Group, Raise Concerns Over RFK Jr. Nomination

• Attorney General Keith Ellison and Protect Our Care Minnesota are concerned about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views on vaccines and what they say is his disregard of science and public health. They believe if he were to take office, Minnesotans would be at risk of losing critical programs like the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid.

NEW YORK

New York Daily News: Opinion: Dr. Dara Kass: RFK Jr. Brings Huge Health Risks

• RFK Jr. will threaten the lives of New Yorkers. Kennedy will erode the public health institutions that keep Americans safe from infectious diseases and contaminated food, and he will put vital programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, at grave risk.

PENNSYLVANIA

City&State: Opinion: Why U.S. Sens. Fetterman, McCormick must vote ‘No’ on RFK Jr.

• As a nurse practitioner, researcher and state representative, I know how critical it is to have experienced and competent leadership to guide our nation’s health care system. President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has neither the experience nor competence to take on this immense national responsibility; confirming him will put Pennsylvanians’ health care and lives at serious risk.

WEST VIRGINIA

Appalachian Thymes: Opposing RFK Jr.’s HHS Nomination: West Virginia Joins National Call

• West Virginia’s high vaccination rates have been a cornerstone of its public health success, preventing outbreaks and protecting vulnerable populations. Advocates warn that Kennedy’s leadership could undermine these gains, particularly if his anti-vaccine rhetoric leads to declining immunization rates. For a state grappling with significant health challenges, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Charleston Gazette-Mail: Opinion: RFK Jr. Unfit to Run America’s Health System

• The consequences of this nomination will touch nearly every household in the nation. Not only does RFK Jr. have a long history of pushing dangerous and outlandish health-related conspiracy theories, but his inexperience puts vital programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, at risk. 

Charleston Gazette-Mail: Opinion: Senate Must Deny RFK Jr. Confirmation

• What I’ve since learned about his bizarre public health theories makes me very afraid that confirming him will result in a deadly resurgence of childhood illnesses like polio and measles. Kennedy’s anti-vaccination conspiracy theories already have had deadly consequences. Following his visit to Samoa in 2019, a catastrophic measles outbreak killed 83 people, primarily infants and children. 

WV Public Broadcasting: Local Healthcare Advocates Ask U.S. Senators To Reject RFK Jr.’s Nomination

• “It is more important than ever that we protect Medicaid, the ACA, Medicare and CHIP,” said Rhonda Rogombe, health policy analyst with the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. “Instead of looking for ways to cut those programs, our leaders should be looking for ways to flex the power they have so that people can be as healthy as possible.”

West Virginia Watch: West Virginia Health Care Advocates Call On Senate to Reject RFK Jr. As Health Secretary

• Fleishauer said the Samoa outbreak in particular has scared her. “They had 83 children die,” she said. “This is a small island. Eighty-three innocent children died because they weren’t vaccinated.” West Virginia has some of the best health care policy laws in the country, she said, and they’ve helped the state avoid similar outbreaks. 
• “Misinformation kills people, especially children and the elderly. I really hope Sen. Justice and Capito both oppose his nomination,” she said. “I think it would be very bad for the state of West Virginia and very bad for our country.”

RFK Jr. Refused Repeatedly to Acknowledge That Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism, Preying on the Fears of Parents and Families. Nomination is Now in Deep Jeopardy 

Washington D.C. — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before the Senate HELP Committee today in a failed attempt to defend his anti-vaccine extremism and cover up his complete lack of qualifications to serve as HHS Secretary. His nomination is now in deep jeopardy. In response, Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement:

“From Senator Cassidy’s first question where RFK Jr. refused to say vaccines do not cause autism through his total lack of knowledge of how the Medicare program works, his hearing in front of the HELP Committee was a disaster from start to finish. He spent hours lying and attempting to erase his history of anti-vaccine extremism and downplay his career built on pushing misinformation. He tried to defend his disproven position that vaccines cause autism and justify his comparison of the U.S. vaccine program to the Holocaust and pedophilia in the Catholic Church.

“During the hearing, RFK Jr. exposed himself as the liar, grifter, and conspiracy theorist he is and has always been. In addition to gaslighting each and every senator, RFK Jr. fumbled to explain the basics of Medicare and Medicaid — bedrock programs that provide millions and millions of Americans with health care. His answers were totally disqualifying, and his nomination is in serious jeopardy.”

Background:

• RFK Jr. Is Gaslighting Senators At Senate Finance Committee Hearing
• Disqualifying: RFK Jr. Refuses to Say Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism
• FACT CHECK: RFK Jr. Denies Deadly History of Lying About Measles Vaccinations
• RFK Jr.’s Nomination Is On the Verge of Collapse
• ROUNDUP: New Polling Shows the Majority of Americans Don’t Trust RFK Jr. to Lead Our Health Care System
• REPORT: RFK Jr. Is An Anti-Vaccine Extremist
• REPORT: Misinformation Kills: RFK Jr’s Deadly Visit To Samoa
• FACT SHEET: RFK Jr. Spread Conspiracy That Lyme Disease Came From a Military Bioweapon

During the Senate HELP Committee, when asked if he would recommend families vaccinate against the measles, RFK Jr. confirmed he would. This is at odds with his long history of anti-vaccine rhetoric and his direct role in a tragic measles outbreak in Samoa that killed 83 people, mostly children. Here’s the truth: 

83 People Died In A Measles Epidemic In Samoa After Kennedy Helped Fuel A Wave Of Vaccine Hesitancy. In 2019, Kennedy visited Samoa at the invitation of a local anti-vaccine influencer. At the time the island nation was attempting to get its vaccination program back on track after two children died following a nurse’s error in mixing measles vaccines. Kennedy met with the Samoan prime minister and prominent local anti-vaccine activists. A few months later, a measles epidemic broke out in Samoa, killing 83 people, mostly infants and children.

Kennedy Claimed That The Global Decline In Measles Cases Was Caused By “Nutrition And Clean Water, Not The Vaccine” And Questioned Whether The MMR Vaccine Is Necessary At All. In a 2019 address to Texans for Vaccine Choice shortly before his trip to Samoa, Kennedy discussed the cause of the global decline in measles outbreaks. “The drop in measles occurred before the vaccine was introduced,” Kennedy said “The thing that cured measles was nutrition and clean water, not the vaccine.” Kennedy questioned whether the MMR vaccine was necessary since tuberculosis and scurvy had been largely eradicated through similar methods without vaccines and he warned parents that pharmaceutical companies are “trying to get at your baby and force him to take their vaccines. And give him a lifetime dependency.” 

RFK Jr.’s Siblings Warned That His Anti-Vaccine Advocacy Was Spurring Global Outbreaks Of The Measles And Calling Him “Tragically Wrong About Vaccines.” In May 2019, shortly before his trip to Samoa, two of RFK Jr’s siblings and a niece authored an op-ed in Politico denouncing RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine advocacy as dangerous: “The World Health Organization reports a 300 percent increase in the numbers of measles cases around the world this year compared with the first three months of 2018. More than 110,000 people are now dying from measles every year. The WHO, the health arm of the United Nations, has listed vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019. Most cases of preventable diseases occur among unvaccinated children, because parents have chosen not to vaccinate, have delayed vaccination, have difficulty accessing vaccines, or the children were too young to receive the vaccines. These tragic numbers are caused by the growing fear and mistrust of vaccines—amplified by internet doomsayers. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—Joe and Kathleen’s brother and Maeve’s uncle—is part of this campaign to attack the institutions committed to reducing the tragedy of preventable infectious diseases. He has helped to spread dangerous misinformation over social media and is complicit in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines.” 

In The Middle Of A Measles Outbreak In Minnesota’s Somali-American Community, Kennedy Told Parents That “Africans and African Americans May Be Particularly Vulnerable To Vaccine Injuries, Including Autism.” In 2017, amid a measles outbreak that was devastating Minnesota’s Somali-American community due to low vaccination rates, Kennedy continued to push his false claims that “science and anecdotal evidence suggest that Africans and African Americans may be particularly vulnerable to vaccine injuries including autism.”

During A Measles Outbreak In Southern California, Kennedy Falsely Claimed Nearly Half of The Cases Came From The Vaccine Strain of Measles – But No Outbreaks From The Vaccine Strain of Measles Have Ever Been Recorded. During a 2015 Measles outbreak in Anaheim, California, Kennedy lied about the outbreak supposedly being caused by vaccines, telling a crowd, “Where is the measles coming from in the Disneyland outbreak? 39 percent of the kids who got measles got vaccine strain measles. What does that mean? It means they got it from the vaccine or they got it from somebody who got the vaccine.” In reality, there have been no known breakout cases of the strain of measles used in the vaccine – ever. The CDC found all genotyped patients in the California outbreak had measles genotype B3, not the live attenuated strain used in the vaccine. Kennedy pulled those numbers out of thin air.

Kennedy Said That It Was A “Great Week” When He And His Siblings Had Measles And That Big Pharma Developed The MMR Vaccine To Create Lifetime Customers For Chronic Illnesses Caused By The Vaccine. In a 2021 interview with the Mikhaila Peterson podcast RFK Jr. said, “They are a rogue, outlaw industry that is making… And you know, listen, if they give you a measles vaccine… Listen, I had the measles when I was a kid. I had 11 brothers and sisters. We all got measles. It was a great week. We stayed home. We watched [inaudible]. We got soup. What is the cure for measles? The treatment for measles, it’s chicken soup and vitamin A. You can’t patent those. So pharma was seeing all these people who are sick and making no money. But if they give you an MMR vaccine and now one in every couple thousand people get the seizures and one in every thousand of them now has lifetime epilepsy, you now have a customer for life who’s paying a lot of money for chronic disease.” 

• Kennedy Said Measles, Mumps, And Chicken Pox Were “Self Limiting” And “Gone” After A Week, But Chronic Diseases Caused By Vaccines Are Causing People To Become “Addicted” To Pharmaceutical Treatments. Kennedy said on the Mikhaila Peterson podcast, “Every one of these childhood diseases – mumps, measles, chickenpox – were self-limiting. In other words, after a week they’re gone and they were all treatable. None of the chronic diseases that are caused by the vaccines are self-limiting. They’re treatable, the symptoms are treatable, but you’re addicted.” 

Read Protect Our Care’s Report on RFK Jr.’s Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories Here

Follow Protect Our Care’s Live Fact Checking of the Hearing Here

In his opening statement at his Senate HELP Committee confirmation hearing, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doubled down on his lies from yesterday regarding his anti-vaccine record. For years, Kennedy has fueled disinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccinations that have had deadly consequences. He has been a leading anti-vaccine voice for decades, spreading false information about vaccines and autism that led to a full-blown measles outbreak in Samoa that killed 83 people, primarily infants and children. But we have the receipts: 

1. “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective.” [Lex Fridman Podcast #388, ‘Robert F. Kennedy Jr: CIA, Power, Corruption, War, Freedom, and Meaning’, 7/6/23, VIDEO]
2. “Our job is to resist and to talk about it to everybody…I see somebody on a hiking trail carrying a little baby and I say to him, ‘Better not get him vaccinated.’ And he heard that from me. If he hears it from 10 other people, maybe he won’t do it…” [The Way Forward with Alec Zeck, ‘HFfH: The State of Health Freedom with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’, 9/3/21, AUDIO]
3. “I do believe that autism comes from vaccines.” [Fox News, ‘Jesse Watters Primetime’, 7/10/23, VIDEO]
4. “They’re trying to get at your baby. And force him to take their vaccines. And give him a lifetime dependency.” [Speech, Texans for Vaccine Choice Rally in Austin, Texas, 5/4/19]
5. “They get the shot, that night they have a fever of a hundred and three, they go to sleep, and three months later their brain is gone. This is a holocaust, what this is doing to our country.” [Speech, ‘Trace Amounts’ Screening in Sacramento, California, 4/7/15]
6. “The COVID shots are a crime against humanity.” [Robert F. Kennedy Jr., X, 12/12/22]
7. “The digitalized economy? We get rid of cash and coins. We give you a chip. We put all your money in your chip. If you refuse a vaccine, we turn off the chip and you starve!” [RFK Jr., Instagram via Forbes, 8/15/20]

RFK Jr. Lied About His Anti-Vaccine Extremism, His Role in the Deadly 2019 Measles Outbreak in Samoa, How Medicare and Medicaid Provide Care to Americans, and More

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a con man who will say anything to get confirmed and help Donald Trump rip away health care from Americans, so it’s no surprise that he lied time and time again during today’s disastrous confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. RFK Jr. lied about his own words opposing lifesaving vaccines, denied his role in the deadly 2019 Samoa measles outbreak, and failed to answer basic questions about America’s health care system. Leading news outlets, experts, and commentators called out RFK Jr.’s lies, proving that he is completely unqualified to serve as HHS Secretary.

IN THE NEWS: 

Time: RFK Jr. Denied He Is Anti-Vaccine During His Confirmation Hearing. Here’s His Record. 

• “Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the most famous vaccine skeptics in the U.S., tried to distance himself from his decades of anti-vaccine sentiment during his Jan. 29 hearing to be confirmed as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)… many senators—including Oregon’s Ron Wyden, a Democrat—pressed Kennedy on discrepancies between his past public statements—in which he has repeatedly questioned the safety and necessity of vaccines and said they are linked to autism and chronic diseases—and his sanitized comments during the hearing.” 

Mother Jones: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Distorts the Facts on His Infamous Samoa Visit. 

• “Under oath, Kennedy claimed that his trip to Samoa had ‘nothing to do with vaccines,’ and that the purpose of his trip had been ‘to introduce a medical informatics system’ and to ‘digitize records in Samoa and make health delivery much more efficient.’ But that’s not exactly true. Recent reporting from NBC’s Brandy Zadrozny shows that Kennedy traveled to Samoa on behalf of the anti-vaccine nonprofit he founded, Children’s Health Defense; in the past, he has acknowledged that his opposition to vaccines factored into the trip, claiming that he’d gone because ‘government officials, including the Prime Minister were curious to measure health outcomes following the ‘natural experiment’ created by the respite from vaccines.’”

Axios: RFK Jr. Struggles to Answer Medicaid Questions in Confirmation Hearing. 

• “Kennedy seemed to struggle when Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) pushed him on what reforms he would propose for Medicaid, a program that provides coverage to some 72 million Americans. Kennedy described Medicaid, a state-federal program, as being ‘fully paid for’ by the federal government. Medicaid is funded by both the states and the federal government. The program represents $1 out of every $6 spent on health care in the U.S., per a 2023 report from KFF.”

The New York Times: R.F.K. Jr. Appears Unfamiliar With Key Elements of Medicare and Medicaid. 

• “In a tense exchange with Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. displayed a surprising lack of familiarity with Medicare and Medicaid, the government programs responsible for covering more than 150 million Americans. At times, Mr. Kennedy seemed to confuse the two programs.”

WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING:

Associate Public Health Director at Center for American Progress Marquisha Johns: “RFK Jr. claims that NIH has infectious diseases as the chief funding focus while not funding chronic disease research. Last year, NIH’s infectious disease institute had about $6B out of NIH’s $40B budget. The cancer institute’s budget alone was higher than this at $7B.” [@marquishajohns.bsky.social‬, Bluesky, 1/29/25]

Chief White House Correspondent for The New York Times and MSNBC Analyst Peter Baker: “As Democrats and even some Republicans press RFK Jr., he has stumbled over basic facts. At one point, he described Medicaid premiums and deductibles as too high when, except in very rare cases, the program’s enrollees do not pay either.” [‪@peterbakernyt.bsky.social‬, Bluesky, 1/29/25]

Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families Joan Alker: “Yes agree – he just answered a question about Medicaid saying that the President asked him to fix the high premiums and deductibles in Medicaid  … which thankfully is a problem Medicaid doesn’t have!” [@JoanAlker1, X, 1/29/25]

Executive Vice President for Health Policy at KFF Larry Levitt: “RFK Jr. said the “premiums are too high” in Medicaid. In fact, premiums in Medicaid are generally prohibited, though some states have waivers to charge premiums.” [@larrylevitt.bsky.social‬, Bluesky, 1/29/25]

Director of Public Health and Policy at the Center for American Progress Jill Rosenthal: “RFK Jr is still spreading misinformation. Water fluoridation is among the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century. Dose matters, but it is good for teeth.” [‪@jillrose.bsky.social‬, Bluesky, 1/29/25]

Senior National Reporter for HuffPost Jonathan Cohn: “Kennedy just gave a nonsensical answer on Medicaid. Under questioning from Sen. Cassidy about the program’s performance and options for future reform, he referred to the fact that people in Medicaid pay high premiums. Near the end of his answer, he referred again to ‘premiums.’ Here’s the thing: People in Medicaid don’t pay premiums, except in special circumstances or through state waivers. [HuffPost, 1/29/25]

Senior National Reporter for HuffPost Jonathan Cohn: “RFK’s answer on Medicaid was … something Not at all clear he understands the program, which he would oversee and which is [checks notes] the nation’s single largest public insurance program by enrollment” [@CitizenCohn, X, 1/29/25]

New York Times Reporter Margot Sanger-Katz: “Kennedy seems unfamiliar with numerous details about how Medicaid works–getting his description of the program’s financing and benefit structure wrong. Notably, it is Sen. Cassidy who is pursuing this line of questioning about core CMS programs that Kennedy hasn’t talked about much before.” [@sangerkatz.bsky.social, Bluesky, 1/29/25]

New Yorker Reporter Clare Malone: “This is an important fact check. It demonstrates the ways that Kennedy tries to wriggle out of his many on the record statements.” [@claremalone.bsky.social‬, Bluesky, 1/29/25] 

Charles Gaba, Health Policy Expert: “In fact, over 50% of Medicare is NOT fee for service any longer (Medicare Advantage became the default choice about a year ago, for good or for bad).” [@charlesgaba.com‬, Bluesky, 1/29/25]

Chief Washington Correspondent for KFF Health News, Julie Rovner: “RFK [Jr.] keeps talking about Medicaid premiums. Medicaid, with few exceptions, doesn’t HAVE premiums. (He’s thinking of Medicare)” [@jrovner, X, 1/29/25]

New York Times Reporter Sarah Kliff: “RFK’s answers to Sen. Cassidy’s questions about Medicaid basics underscored a lack of familiarity with the program. He described it as a fully federally funded program. The costs are actually split between states and the feds. He described the premiums and deductibles as being too high. Medicaid does not have premiums or deductibles, aside from a handful of small experiments with them (mostly in GOP states during the last Trump administration).” [@SarahKliff, X, 1/29/25]

Watch the Event Here.

Washington, D.C. — Today, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, M.D., Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz, Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen and others joined Protect Our Care and doctors, nurses, advocates, and storytellers for a press conference ahead of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s confirmation hearings with the Senate Finance and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committees. Governor Green detailed the devastating measles outbreak in Samoa, which he saw firsthand while responding to the crisis. Speakers warned about the deadly consequences if RFK Jr. is at the helm of American health care. 

Speakers said that this nomination will touch nearly every household in the nation. For years, Kennedy has fueled disinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccinations and has pledged to stop funding research for treatments and cures to deadly diseases. His opposition to vaccines will lead to a resurgence of childhood illnesses like polio and measles. In addition, RFK Jr. doesn’t have the experience and skills to run major health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid that over 125 million Americans rely on for their health care. If confirmed, he won’t follow the science or trust the experts but instead will embrace fringe ideas that will put the lives of millions of Americans in jeopardy. 

“RFK Jr is absolutely the most dangerous nominee to run HHS in our history,” said Hawaii Governor Josh Green, M.D. “He spreads misinformation and he profits from it – unconscionable and immoral. Five years ago, there was a terrible outbreak of measles in Samoa. By the time we got there, dozens of people had already died of measles. RFK Jr. took advantage of that country – he swooped in and scared them. Measles spread like wildfire. If he becomes Health and Human Services Secretary, he will oversee the entirety of our national program to vaccinate children. He will cast doubt on the vaccination program, as he has done for years, and we will see outbreaks. He will put children in harm’s way, the way he did in Samoa, all across our country.”

“There was reporting that indicated that RFK Jr. wants to conduct the Tuskegee experiments on all of us,” said Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI). “He believes that the FDA process for determining the efficacy of medicine does not reach statistical significance and the only way to figure out whether something works or not is to administer placebos to half of the population and just see what happens. When I heard that he did that, I got a chill up and down my spine, to think it is more than 50 years later, and we are still fighting this fight.”

“The head of the HHS must believe in science to keep people healthy and believe the experts, not conspiracy theories,” said Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). “Robert F Kennedy, Jr. does not meet that very simple requirement. It’s not just that he doesn’t believe in science and trust our experts — he actively undermines them. RFK Jr. is one of the top spreaders of misinformation about vaccines, peddling bogus conspiracy theories that these safe and effective protections for Americans are somehow harmful. In fact, he said once that ‘no vaccine is safe and effective.’ Take it from me, somebody who spent months in a hospital bed as a child: I know the consequences of not protecting our kids from serious illness. I also know what it’s like to have science-backed medicine and great health care. Americans deserve a leading health official who believes in science, not conspiracies.”

“There are very few people in the United States of America who are less qualified to lead the Department of Health and Human Services than Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,” said Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT). “Not just because he is overtly hostile to vaccines. He has shown that he is just wildly open to believing any medical conspiracy theory that is put in front of him. You do not want a Secretary of HHS who is going to believe on a daily basis whatever new medical conspiracy theory is popular on the internet. That’s the last person you want in charge of this nation’s health care.”

“The Department of Health and Human Services Secretary is charged with protecting the health and safety of all Americans – a responsibility that demands qualified, science-based, and fact-driven leadership,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. represents the polar opposite: his promotion of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and lack of expertise makes him unfit to lead this critical institution. If confirmed, he would be in a position to endanger public health and the lives of Americans of all walks of life while throwing decades of life-saving medical research and advancements into chaos. What’s more, I’m deeply concerned by his threats aimed at key research institutions like NIH, and the hardworking, dedicated men and women who work tirelessly on behalf of the American people day in and day out. I will oppose his nomination and will fight to protect the integrity of our science and public health agencies – as well as the people who drive them forward.”

“RFK Jr. is going to send us back 100 years, back to days when milk was not pasteurized and there were no vaccinations and children were dying,” said Peter Lurie, President and Executive Director, Center for Science in the Public Interest. “The greatest advancements in public health are the things he wants to turn his back on.”

“Robert F Kennedy Jr. is a clear and present danger to American Public Health,” said Rob Weissman, Co-President, Public Citizen. “He shouldn’t be allowed within 500 feet of the Department of Health and Human Services, let alone be put in charge of it. He is a conspiracist and an anti-science crusader. RFK is not an opponent of Big Pharma. He is an opponent of science.”

“With my latest film Shot In The Arm, I had the opportunity to research and expose Robert Kennedy, Jr. for what he is,” said Scott Hamilton Kennedy, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, and director of the Shot In The Arm documentary. “He is a fraud, and he’s been spreading misinformation and confusion for decades. His disregard for scientific consensus and verifiable truth is very, very dangerous. Science and democracy thrive on the free exchange of ideas, empirical evidence, and accountability – all of which Robert Kennedy Jr. undermines.”

“I am a physician and I represent 27,000 physicians,” said Dr. Jan Krommes, Doctors for America. “We oppose the confirmation of Robert Kennedy as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the strongest of possible terms. We have studied and evaluated both his statements and his actions, and we have concluded that his inability to understand scientific data, that his use of a public platform over the period of 20 years to jeopardize public health for his own enrichment is disqualifying for the position that he seeks.” 

 “I’ve had patients in the hospital for entirely preventable reasons, like not being vaccinated,” said Dr. Andrey Ostrovsky, 314 Action Public Health Advisor. “They got misinformation from charlatans like RFK Jr. RFK Jr.’s track record of spreading misinformation about vaccines is very well documented and his back should be crushed carrying that guilt.” 

“The people who would pay the price of the decisions RFK Jr. would be making isn’t RFK Jr.,” said Andrea Ducas, Vice President of Health Policy, Center for American Progress. “It’s kids. It’s scared parents. It’s American families who are just trying to do right day by day and who are having to compete with just a deluge of misinformation that’s intentionally designed to scare them so that someone can turn a profit.”

“RFK Jr. is deeply dangerous and if confirmed, more people will get sick and more people will die, including our most vulnerable populations,” said Brad Woodhouse, Executive Director, Protect Our Care. “What he did to Samoa will become a reality here in the United States. RFK Jr.’s lies should not fool anyone. He is a con man who has been paid to promote anti-vaccine theories that have no scientific basis.”