Democratic doctors in Congress said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, would pose a danger to public health if confirmed.
Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), a pediatrician, said the Democratic physicians in the House, who now number six, would form a caucus to elevate their voices in Congress.
The lawmakers said Kennedy’s anti-vaccine activism was “beyond irresponsible” and “should disqualify” him to lead HHS in a press conference on Wednesday, suggesting a Kennedy confirmation would cause more to die of preventable diseases, referencing Kennedy longstanding efforts to discourage vaccination. Schrier joined Reps. Ami Bera (D-Calif.), Herb Conaway (D-N.J.) and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, all physicians, as well as Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), a registered nurse, to publicly oppose Kennedy’s confirmation.
Kennedy has said he won’t take away vaccines, but wants to provide patients with more information about their safety and effectiveness.
Schrier said it’s possible the caucus Democrats envision could work with Republican doctors in a new bipartisan alliance, adding she has talked with Rep. John Joyce (R-Penn.), a dermatologist who now co-chairs the GOP Doctors Caucus.
“We’re going to need a lot of unity,” Schrier said about the next four years, pointing to the importance of a bipartisan group of lawmakers urging vaccinations early in the Covid-19 pandemic.
But leaders of the GOP Doctors Caucus in the House declined to comment, and Republican doctors in the Senate have taken a different tack on Kennedy.
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a gastroenterologist, has said Kennedy is wrong about vaccines but hasn’t said he would vote against him because of it. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), an ophthalmologist, has cheered Kennedy’s pick, while Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), an obstetrician, has formed a “Make America Healthy Again” caucus to promote Kennedy’s efforts to combat the root causes of disease.
