President-elect Donald Trump’s somewhat predictable selection of conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services represents a continued departure from scientific consensus and the broad acknowledgment of known facts that could endanger millions of Americans.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren captured the gravity of this insane nomination: “Say goodbye to your smile and say hello to polio—that’s what’s on the horizon if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. becomes the Secretary of Health and Human Services.”
Warren’s dire warning isn’t hyperbole. Kennedy’s ally/lawyer, Aaron Siri, petitioned the FDA in 2022 to revoke approval of the polio vaccine, a medical breakthrough that helped eliminate a disease that once terrorized American families and has saved millions (even billions) of lives around the world. Kennedy will likely re-engage this revocation, among others, for his other hare-brained ideas during his leadership. Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a childhood polio survivor, expressed profound concern about efforts to undermine “proven cures.”
“From the age of two, normal life without paralysis was only possible for me because of the miraculous combination of modern medicine and a mother’s love,” McConnell said.
Kennedy’s nomination has drawn unprecedented opposition from 77 Nobel laureates, who warned in a letter that placing Kennedy in charge “would put the public’s health in jeopardy and undermine America’s global leadership in the sciences.”
Trump’s comments on Meet the Press suggest he shares Kennedy’s dangerous skepticism. When asked about autism rates, Trump mused, “I don’t know if it’s vaccines. Maybe it’s chlorine in the water, right? You know, people are looking at a lot of different things.”
This casual dismissal of scientific consensus becomes more unhinged considering Kennedy’s documented hostility toward the agencies he would oversee. How does this work? How can you be in charge of organizations you detest, and the outcome be anything other than disastrous?
In October, a defiant Kennedy posted that the FDA’s “war on public health is about to end,” adding ominously: “If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags.”
The stakes couldn’t be higher. The CDC reports that standard childhood vaccines prevented 1.3 million premature deaths and 32 million hospitalizations between 1994 and 2023. Yet Trump has signaled he would let Kennedy “go wild” on the government’s health care systems.
The danger extends beyond vaccines. Kennedy has vowed to eliminate fluoride from all U.S. water systems despite its recognition as one of the most important public health measures of the 20th century.
Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden captured the situation’s gravity: “Mr. Kennedy’s outlandish views on basic scientific facts are disturbing and should worry all parents who expect schools and other public spaces to be safe for their children.”
Senator Patty Murray noted that confirming Kennedy “would be nothing short of a disaster for the health of millions of families.”
Trump’s selection of the manifestly unqualified Kennedy represents more than poor judgment—it’s a direct and dire threat to decades of public health progress. With oversight of Medicare, Medicaid, the FDA, and critical public health agencies, HHS demands leadership grounded in science, not conspiracy theories. The Senate must reject this dangerous nomination.
