Docs Organize Against, and for, RFK Jr.’s Nomination to Run HHS

With controversy continuing to swirl around President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as HHS secretary, physicians against and in support of the nomination are organizing to try to persuade lawmakers to vote their way.

For groups opposing Kennedy, his skepticism on vaccines is among their biggest objections. Kennedy “has stated that he doesn’t think any vaccine is safe and effective,” Rob Davidson, MD, MPH, executive director of the Committee to Protect Health Care, which opposes the nomination, said in a phone interview with a press person present. “To propose that this guy should lead the biggest health agency in the U.S., dictating policy and just having a mouthpiece — being the official government spokesperson for how we should run our health system — I think it’s terrifying. It will erode trust in this critical tool we have to prevent disease.”

The group has more than 19,000 signatures on a letter opposing Kennedy, more than 15,000 of which are physicians, while a number of the rest are healthcare professionals, Davidson said.

“As physicians who care deeply about the health and safety of our patients and communities, we are appalled by Donald Trump’s reckless decision to appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services,” the letter says. “RFK Jr. is not only unqualified to lead this essential agency — he is actively dangerous. We urge the Senate to protect and defend our patients’ access to quality healthcare by rejecting his appointment.”

“This appointment is an affront to the principles of public health, the tireless dedication of medical professionals, and the trust that millions of Americans place in the healthcare system,” the letter continues. “RFK Jr. has a well-documented history of spreading dangerous disinformation on vaccines and public health interventions, leaving vulnerable communities unprotected and placing millions of lives at risk. His appointment is a direct threat to the safety of our patients and the public at large.”

The physician signatures have all been vetted by staff members at the organization, Davidson said. “Our team is vetting these names day by day … We do confirm the signatories are doctors. Our team goes through [the list] multiple times a day and pulls out those that are clearly not real.” He noted that there has been “a lot of pushback from right-wing folks” to the letter, adding that “there seem to be marching orders to try and attack it.” One detractor, Trump’s campaign spokesman Steven Cheung, tweeted that the group is trying to “go against the will of the American people” who elected Trump.

The group is also asking doctors to email their senators and to contact their professional societies, including the American Medical Association. “We’ve also provided a list of maybe 100 professional specialty societies [so physicians can] send emails to the government affairs folks within those organizations, just to say to these groups, ‘Hey, we know how business usually works — you write a PAC [political action committee] check to a senator because you want access — but we think they should be withholding these $5,000 PAC checks if people are supporting this guy, because it’s against what we all truly believe,'” said Davidson, an emergency physician in Michigan. “So we’re hopeful that kind of pressure can also help sway some of these senators that may be on the fence and may be considering not supporting him.” Davidson said his group also has met with Republican senators, such as Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), who haven’t committed to supporting Kennedy.

He noted that his organization is not necessarily opposed to a non-physician running HHS. “We’re not saying it has to be a doctor,” Davidson said. “I think people with good administrative experience — people with rational, mainstream views on healthcare in this country, people who want to lower the price of healthcare for everyday Americans, people who want to support reproductive freedoms — those are the kinds of people that we believe should be in this type of position. Certainly, [current HHS] Secretary [Xavier] Becerra fits that; previous secretaries certainly have.”

On the other side of the issue is Make America Healthy Again, a pro-Kennedy organization. That group has collected signatures from more than 800 doctors on a letter supporting Kennedy’s nomination. “We, the undersigned physicians, write to urge you to seize this historic opportunity to confront America’s chronic disease crisis by confirming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services,” the letter says. “The stakes could not be higher. The chronic disease epidemic now threatens our nation’s future — undermining human capital, compromising national security, and straining our economy to the breaking point.”

“In the early 1980s, fewer than 13% of U.S. children suffered from a chronic condition,” the letter continues. “Today, that figure has soared to nearly 60%, and an alarming 77% of young adults are ineligible for military service due to health issues. Chronic disease and mental health now account for 90% of the nation’s $4.3 trillion in annual healthcare expenditures. These trends are not just unsustainable — they are existential.”

“This letter reflects the collective voice of physicians and medical professionals committed to reversing these devastating trends. We believe Robert F. Kennedy Jr. possesses the vision, integrity, and leadership essential for this critical moment in public health,” the letter says. “His unwavering commitment to scientific transparency and his determination to address the root causes of illness make him uniquely qualified to lead HHS.” It adds that the nomination “represents an unparalleled chance to restore our nation’s health and renew trust in our public health institutions … His commonsense policy priorities — including removing harmful substances from our food, water, and medicines — are grounded in the urgent need to combat the chronic disease epidemic and to Make America Healthy Again.”

“America stands at a crossroads,” the letter reads. “The conventional approaches of the past have failed to reverse our declining health outcomes. By confirming Mr. Kennedy, you will empower a leader prepared to tackle these challenges head-on, delivering the bold, systemic reforms our public health system desperately needs.”

The Make America Healthy Again organization was unable to provide someone by press time to discuss the group’s effort to get Kennedy confirmed. (If the group provides a spokesperson later, the story will be updated.)

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