Watch: Senator Markey Slams RFK Jr.’s Nomination to Run HHS

Washington (February 12, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), ranking member of the Health Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, today delivered remarks on the floor of the Senate, objecting to the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Below is an excerpt from his remarks.

“When Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was asked about Medicare and Medicaid, he could not answer the most basic questions, demonstrating that he would be at HHS only to make whatever cuts Trump, Musk, and DOGE dictate at the expense of the American people. Now, he is in line to be the number one health official in the United States. This would be a disaster. Mr. Kennedy has reportedly given reassurances on his position on vaccines, or on his position on food and chronic disease.  

“To my colleagues, I would say this: We cannot address chronic disease if we are slashing Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act or recklessly cutting off funding from hospitals and community health centers. If we are battling vaccine misinformation, it will make it much more difficult to take on chronic disease like heart disease or diabetes. The long-term impact of food on children’s health doesn’t matter if children are dying from preventable, infectious disease because they believed misinformation spread by our nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services.  

“And even with the promises he has made on vaccine misinformation, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has not demonstrated that he will fulfill his promises. He has used his position to lead people down the dangerous path of vaccine misinformation, and when asked about his role in the Samoa outbreak, he lied.  

“I have received over 1,000 calls and emails to my office opposing his nomination and received letters from over 18,000 physicians – including thousands of pediatricians, internal medicine, and emergency medicine doctors – representing all 50 states and Puerto Rico. They expressed concern and dismay about having a Secretary of Health and Human Services that doesn’t believe in vaccines that save lives.

“The stakes are too high to take a risk on this nominee.”  

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