Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) on Friday called for his uncle, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to resign amid concerns about vaccine misinformation and his attacks on public health officials.
“Robert Kennedy Jr. is a threat to the health and wellbeing of every American. A United States Secretary of Health and Human Services is tasked with protecting the public health of our country and its people,” Joe Kennedy III wrote in a Friday post on social platform X.
“At yesterday’s hearing, he chose to do the opposite: to dismiss science, mislead the public, sideline experts and sow confusion. None of us will be spared the pain he is inflicting,” he continued.
During a Thursday appearance before the Senate Finance Committee, the Health and Human Services secretary doubled down on his moves to limit vaccine access and his ouster of former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez. He told senators that “anybody” who wants the COVID-19 vaccine still has the opportunity to receive it despite new Food and Drug Administration guidelines that adjusted the approved labeling for people under 65 to those with at least one underlying health condition.
Eleven of the 12 Democrats on the committee called for his resignation before the hearing. Public health groups have sounded the alarm over Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine skepticism and shift away from the scientific consensus on various fronts.
“It doesn’t matter how rich or powerful you are or what state you live in— the heartbreak of watching a loved one fall ill knows no borders,” Joe Kennedy III wrote Friday.
“The challenges before us-from disease outbreaks to mental health crises-demand moral clarity, scientific expertise, and leadership rooted in fact,” he added. “Those values are not present in the Secretary’s office. He must resign.”
Last week, four top officials resigned from the CDC over what they called the secretary’s “weaponizing of public health.”
“For the good of the nation and the world, the science at CDC should never be censored or subject to political paused or interpretations. Vaccines save lives — this is an indisputable, well-established, scientific fact,” CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry said upon resigning.
Three GOP senators expressed concern about the health secretary during Thursday’s hearing. But the president expressed his ongoing support for the secretary later in the day.
Kennedy’s “got a different take, and we want to listen to all of those takes,” President Trump said Thursday evening.
“But it’s not your standard talk, I would say. And that has to do with medical and vaccines. But if you look at what’s going on in the world with health, and look at this country also with regard to health, I like the fact that he’s different.”
