Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Confirmed as HHS Secretary
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, senators voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Public Citizen Co-President Robert Weissman issued the following statement:
“This is a shameful day for the U.S. Senate, an institution that likes to laud itself for its careful deliberation and seriousness of purpose. No senator should have voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Every single senator knows he’s not just profoundly unqualified to head the nation’s health agency but a threat to public health in the nation.
“We should expect Robert F. Kennedy to continue spreading his conspiracies, anti-vaccine propaganda and anti-science crusade. We should expect him to deliver on his promises to sabotage our public health institutions. And we should expect him to enable and facilitate the effort to slash health care coverage for lower-income people, privatize Medicare and undermine the subsidies and consumer protections on the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
“Robert Kennedy’s confirmation puts our entire healthcare system and countless patient lives in jeopardy.
“With the Senate having failed to do its job – notwithstanding the truly heroic efforts of many Senate champions to rally opposition against this dangerous nominee – it will fall on the American people to confront his lies and policies and to defend basic public health principles and institutions.”