Scathing Editorials from the New York Post, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, Damning Letter from Caroline Kennedy and Washington Post Anti-Vaccine Expose Leave RFK Jr.’s Nomination in Peril
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearings begin tomorrow, and his nomination is on the verge of collapse. The New York Post slammed RFK Jr.’s nomination in a scathing editorial yesterday, describing Kennedy as an “unserious, dangerous official” who is “completely incoherent about our nation’s health.” That piece came one day after the Wall Street Journal editorial board denounced RFK Jr., in particular sounding the alarm on his anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. And today, Caroline Kennedy sent a letter to lawmakers warning senators about RFK Jr. and the risk that his nomination poses to the health and well-being of the American people. It’s been a brutal past few days for RFK Jr., and it’s only going to get worse when his extreme and dangerous record is on display for the whole country to see at his confirmation hearings starting tomorrow.
HEADLINES
The Washington Post: Caroline Kennedy Warns Senators of ‘Predator’ RFK Jr. in Searing Letter. “In a copy of a letter obtained by The Washington Post and sent to lawmakers ahead of Kennedy’s confirmation hearings to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the former ambassador to Australia alleges that her cousin, ‘addicted to attention and power,’ has given hypocritical advice by discouraging parents from vaccinating their children while vaccinating his own children. She alleged that his ‘crusade against vaccination’ has also served to enrich him.” [The Washington Post, 1/28/25]
The Washington Post: RFK Jr. Disparaged Vaccines Dozens of Times in Recent Years and Misled on Race. “In at least 36 appearances, Kennedy linked autism to vaccines, despite overwhelming scientific evidence supporting the use of vaccination to protect people from deadly infectious diseases and refuting any ties to autism… Race also threads through many of Kennedy’s comments unearthed by The Post, with several misleading claims about Black Americans, including false claims about Black children’s autism rates after vaccination and comments on their immune systems.” [The Washington Post, 1/28/25]
New York Post: Editorial: Senators, Vote ‘No’ on RFK Jr. — Who’s Still a ‘Radical Left Lunatic’ Hazardous to Our Health. “On Thursday, Senate hearings begin on RFK Jr.’s nomination as secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services. But nothing has changed about Kennedy from last spring. He’s still a radical left lunatic who is anti-energy, a “big time” taxer and completely incoherent about our nation’s health. No Republican can vote for this guy. No senator should. The president and his team insist that RFK Jr. has been fitted with a policy straitjacket — that certain areas such as vaccines and objecting to energy strategy are off-limits. But in truth, the only straitjacket suitable for RFK Jr. is a real one.” [New York Post, 1/27/25]
New York Post: Editorial: RFK Jr. is a Menace to Health and Common Sense — Shame on Republicans Who Support Him. “The US Senate has the constitutional duty to vet the president’s nominees and ensure that no unfit authoritarians find their way into the White House. Which brings me to the appointment of brainworm-ridden dilettante Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of the Department of Health and Human Services. There has perhaps never been a Republican Cabinet nominee in history less suited for public office. RFK’s experience (zero), his temperament (unhinged) and his ideas (extremist) impel the Senate to keep him out of the new presidential administration.” [New York Post, 1/28/25]
The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: Why RFK Jr. Is Dangerous to Public Health. “President Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary in return for his presidential endorsement. But Senate Republicans have an obligation to scrutinize his giant closet of business conflicts and dubious ideas… Most troubling is his long record of anti-vaccine advocacy.” [The Wall Street Journal, 1/26/25]
The Washington Post: Editorial: More Reason to Oppose RFK Jr.’s Nomination. “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not qualified to be health and human services secretary for many reasons, chief among them being his years-long unscientific campaign against essential vaccines. Last week, he added a new one: His refusal to rectify a blatant conflict of interest… In other words, Kennedy would remain party to a lawsuit against a major drug manufacturer that, as HHS secretary, he would be regulating. The nominee appears not to see any problem with this.” [The Washington Post, 1/28/25]
Boston Globe: Editorial: From Polio to COVID: Why Kennedy is Unfit for HHS. “As the Senate undertakes its examination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the next secretary of Health and Human Services, two events flood my mind. Both concern why approving his nomination would put Americans’ health at grave risk… Kennedy was far worse than Trump in the early months of COVID. He sued to stop the distribution of the COVID vaccine, promulgated disinformation about bogus cures, and used the pandemic to sow doubt about the life-saving vaccines… Kennedy, with his decades of antivaccine activities, seems indifferent and has questioned whether the polio vaccine resulted in a decline in cases. But the spirits of the many thousands of American children who died before the vaccine appeared and the others, post-polio, including me — stuck with leg braces, crutches, walkers or wheelchairs — know full well that allowing Kennedy to assume office would enable killer diseases to recur.” [Boston Globe, 1/27/25]
The Hill: Fewer Than Half in New Poll Trust Trump, RFK Jr. to Make Right Recommendations on Health Issues. “The latest KFF survey, published Tuesday, finds 42 percent of respondents say they have either a great deal or fair amount of trust in Trump to make the right recommendations when it comes to health issues. A similar 43 percent say the same about Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Another 43 percent said the same about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump tapped to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).” [The Hill, 1/28/25]
Media Matters For America: Ben Shapiro Says Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “Expressed Support for Policies That I Think Are Really Troubling.” “I like RFK Jr. a lot personally. I’ve had him on the show. He has expressed support for policies that I think are really troubling… He indicated that he would consider authorizing the government to seize the patents of high-priced medicines for manufacturers and sharing them with other drug makers as a way to force down costs…that is going to generate some pretty significant pushback from Republicans, you imagine.” [Media Matters For America, 1/28/25]
Politico: Murdoch Empire Comes Out Against RFK Jr. “Editorial boards at two publications owned by the Murdoch family denounced Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services… the opposition signals a notable pushback against President Donald Trump from a global media empire that has helped mold modern American politics and Trump’s political rise.” [Politico, 1/28/25]
CNN: Key GOP Senators Want Public Commitments from RFK Jr. on Abortion and Vaccines During Confirmation Hearings. “Some GOP senators want public commitments from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before deciding whether to support him as the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, signaling that President Donald Trump’s pick will have to win over uncertain Republicans in order to secure the job. Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who is anti-abortion rights, told CNN that Kennedy needs to do more to assuage her concerns given his past comments supporting access to the procedure. ‘He will need to publicly state his position on abortion because I’m obviously very life focused. That’s one of the biggest concerns,’ Ernst told CNN. Republican senators and anti-abortion advocates have already sounded the alarm on Kennedy’s stance on this issue, his previous Democratic bid for president and his past support for abortion access until fetal viability, which Trump’s team has seen as a key vulnerability.” [CNN, 1/27/25]
Axios: Undecided Senators Lay Out Expectations for RFK. “Senators who haven’t committed on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for HHS secretary say he’ll have to lay out a cogent public health vision in twin confirmation hearings that start Wednesday. Why it matters: Kennedy has alarmed public health experts with his years of vaccine criticism. The hearings in the Finance and HELP committees will show which senators still are concerned and which are giving more credence to his recent efforts to soften his views. What they’re saying: ‘He’s got to have a good hearing, address some of the concerns we all know, like vaccines, couple other things like that,’ Sen. Thom Tillis, who sits on Finance, told reporters Monday. ‘And he has the distinction of having to go through two committees, so we’ll see how he does on Wednesday and Thursday,’ he added.” [Axios, 1/28/25]
Financial Times: Robert Kennedy Allies Fear He is Losing US Senate Support. “Robert F Kennedy Jr’s allies fear that he has failed to convince enough senators to confirm him as Donald Trump’s top health official, according to people familiar with the matter. Kennedy, known as RFK Jr, was holding last-minute meetings with Democrats and Republicans ahead of two days of questioning by the Senate’s finance and health committees later this week, three people said. He has met more than 60 senators since his nomination. ‘There’s more anxiety now than ever,’ said a person close to Kennedy. ‘This is a big week: if the vote were today it would be iffy. We really need to solidify momentum this week to overcome all the negativity there’s been.’ Opposition to Kennedy’s nomination has emerged from influential conservative voices, including The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board and Americans Advancing Freedom, a group co-founded by former vice-president Mike Pence that has expressed concern about the former Democrat’s support for abortion rights.” [Financial Times, 1/27/25]
ABC: RFK Jr. Says He’s Not Anti-Vaccine. But He Could Profit Off Claim in Vaccine Lawsuit. “In 2020, as a pandemic raged across the globe, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took to social media to appeal to his hundreds of thousands of followers on Facebook… he was looking for parents whose children had been vaccinated against a different virus — human papillomavirus or HPV — and later grew sick. Public health researchers and doctors said there was no evidence that the vaccine, Gardasil, was linked to the health problems he cited, noting 160 favorable studies on safety. A federal court created to compensate people injured by vaccines also had already rejected a similar claim, citing ‘insufficient proof’ that the vaccine was behind the plaintiff’s health issues. But in his posts, Kennedy said that he and lawyer Michael Baum… believed there was still a path forward. The families could sue the manufacturer Merck in civil court claiming marketing fraud – allegations Merck denies… According to financial disclosure documents released last week, Kennedy’s primary source of income in the past year were large sums of referral fees from multiple law firms, including Baum’s office, whose civil lawsuit against Merck’s Gardasil vaccine went to trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court last week. Kennedy’s leading role in building a case against Merck is now raising questions about how he might wield his power as the nation’s next health secretary – a job intended as an impartial overseer in public health – while in line for potential payouts from a major pharmaceutical company.” [ABC, 1/27/25]
Stat: RFK Jr.’s Step-By-Step Blueprint to Question the Safety of Vaccines. “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has insisted he doesn’t want to take away vaccines — he just wants to make sure they’re safe. But he has already sketched out a blueprint that could subject recommended vaccines to renewed scrutiny, redirect research, strip legal protections for vaccine makers, and change how vaccines are advertised. His step-by-step plan provides a window into how RFK Jr. could use the levers of power as the top U.S. health official to sow doubt about vaccines at a time when rates of childhood immunizations are already slipping.” [Stat, 1/28/25]
Politico: RFK Jr. Says He’s Open to Seizing Drug Patents. “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. expressed openness to adopting a key progressive proposal for lowering drug prices during a closed-door meeting with Senate Finance Committee staffers, according to three people familiar with the exchange, who were granted anonymity to speak freely about private discussions. President Donald Trump’s health secretary nominee last week indicated he’d consider authorizing the government to seize the patents of high-priced medicines from manufacturers and share them with other drug makers as a way to force down costs, said the three people… Advocates for the policy say it would allow new levels of competition for some of the most expensive prescription drugs, which are now protected by patents. Kennedy’s comments, which come before his confirmation hearings on the Hill this week, may deepen suspicions among conservatives already wary of his past as a Democrat.” [Politico, 1/27/25]
Associated Press: Anti-Vaccine Bills Pop Up Across the US Ahead of RFK Jr’s Confirmation Hearing. “Bills challenging vaccine mandates have popped up in more than 15 states, with skeptic lawmakers emboldened by President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and RFK Jr.’s nomination as health secretary. Lawmakers aim to potentially resurrect or create new religious exemptions from immunization mandates, establish state-level vaccine injury databases or dictate what providers must tell patients about the shots. RFK Jr., a known vaccine-sceptic, faces his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Senators have already spoken to him, highlighting the importance of vaccination, and, shortly after the election, he promised not to ‘take away’ anybody’s vaccines, according to NBC. However, experts worry he could have a significant impact on childhood immunization policies, at a time when the vaccination rates against dangerous childhood infections like measles and polio continue to fall nationwide. The number of parents claiming non-medical exemptions so their kids don’t get required shots is rising.” [Associated Press, 1/28/25]