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.”