More than 15,000 doctors urge Senate to reject RFK Jr as health secretary

More than 15,000 doctors have signed a letter circulated by the Committee to Protect Health Care in opposition to Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services, Robert F Kennedy Jr.

“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 (HHS),” the letter states.

It added: “The health and well-being of 336 million Americans depend on leadership at HHS that prioritizes science, evidence-based medicine, and strengthening the integrity of our public health system. RFK Jr. is not only unqualified to lead this essential agency – he is actively dangerous.”

Kennedy has a long record of spreading conspiracy theories about vaccines and other scientific research, the letter explains, and cites an example of him visiting Samoa in 2019 where he spread misinformation about the measles vaccine, sparking a measles outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly children under the age of five.

The letter comes as Kennedy has been courting confirmation votes among Republicans and Democrats in the Senate. He would need all but three Republican votes to be confirmed if all Democrats vote against his confirmation.

Protect Our Care, a liberal non-profit aimed at preserving the Affordable Care Act, launched a campaign this week opposing Kennedy’s confirmation. Last month, 77 Nobel laureates signed a letter opposing his nomination.

Trump has repeated much of the information propagated by Kennedy. In December 2024 interview, the president-elect said that Kennedy may investigate a widely debunked connection between autism and vaccines.

“We’re going to look into finding why is the autism rate so much higher than it was 20, 25, 30 years ago?” Trump said. “I mean, it’s like, it’s 100 times higher. There’s something wrong, and we’re going to try finding that.”

The letter concluded in outlining Kennedy’s lack of any credible experience in healthcare or medicine, and his plans to gut staff, funding and resources of federal health agencies.

“RFK Jr.’s rhetoric and actions endanger the health of millions, especially children, by undermining trust in essential health care. His appointment threatens to reverse decades of progress in improving health outcomes for patients across the country and the world,” concluded the letter. “This is not leadership – it’s sabotage.”