Dozens of Nobel Prize Winners Urge Senate to Reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s HHS Nomination
A letter signed by 77 Nobel laureates in chemistry, economics, medicine, and physics has been published by the New York Times, urging the US Senate to oppose Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services. The laureates cite Kennedy’s opposition to vaccines, criticism of fluoridation of drinking water, promotion of AIDS conspiracy theories, and criticism of HHS agencies.
The letter states that Kennedy’s record would put the public’s health in jeopardy and undermine America’s global leadership in the health sciences. It also notes that the leader of DHHS should continue to nurture and improve the institutions and employees, rather than threatening them.
Kennedy has been a prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, spreading falsehoods about the safety and efficacy of vaccines. He has also committed to removing fluoride from public water and has said that AIDS is not caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, but rather by drug use.
Additionally, Kennedy has proposed significant employee turnover at public health agencies, including cutting workers in the nutrition departments at the FDA and replacing 600 officials at the NIH with hand-picked staff. A physician advocacy group, the Committee to Protect Health Care, has also urged senators to reject the nomination.
Trump’s previous vice president, Mike Pence, has also asked the Senate not to confirm Kennedy due to his record in support of abortion rights.