Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. came under extraordinary pressure this week as Democrats, medical groups, federal employees, and members of his own family joined a growing chorus calling for his resignation. A combative appearance before the Senate Finance Committee on September 4 highlighted deep concerns about Kennedy’s leadership of the Centers for Disease Control and the department as a whole.
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the committee’s ranking Democrat, opened the hearing with sharp criticism, accusing Kennedy of firing career scientists and installing “cranks” and “conspiracy theorists” who promote mistrust in public health. “His actions are endangering children, leaving parents confused and scared, and forcing families and taxpayers to pay more for their health care,” Wyden said.
The backlash has been building for weeks. On September 3, more than 1,000 current and former staffers at HHS issued a public letter demanding Kennedy resign or be removed by President Donald Trump. The letter followed statements from the American Association of Immunologists and the American Public Health Association, which joined dozens of Democrats in demanding change at the department.
The September 4 hearing made clear the extent of bipartisan unease. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a Republican physician, reminded Kennedy of assurances he made at his confirmation in February that he would not restrict access to vaccines or stoke public mistrust. Cassidy accused Kennedy of overseeing policies that prevented people from accessing COVID shots. Kennedy replied flatly, “You’re wrong.”
The exchanges grew increasingly tense. Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock told Kennedy directly, “You are a hazard to the health of the American people,” before calling on him to resign. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner pressed Kennedy on basic facts, including how many Americans died from COVID. Kennedy responded that he did not think “anybody knows” the number and dismissed CDC data. Warner said he could not believe a sitting health secretary could be “that ignorant” of the deadliest outbreak in decades. At other moments, Kennedy told senators they were speaking “gibberish.”
The controversies extend far beyond the hearing room. Since his confirmation in February, Kennedy has removed top officials and gutted panels central to public health policy. In July, he fired all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, replacing them with allies and vaccine skeptics. Critics, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, launched investigations into the firings, warning that forthcoming recommendations on COVID boosters could further erode public trust and vaccine access.
On August 29, hundreds of CDC employees staged a walkout after Kennedy fired Director Susan Monarez. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Monarez said Kennedy pressured her to pre-approve restrictions on COVID shots without evidence. Kennedy told the Senate committee that Monarez is lying, but her legal team responded that his accusations were “false and, at times, patently ridiculous.”
The turmoil has had immediate consequences. Confusion among doctors and pharmacists has left pregnant women, young children, and people under 65 unable to receive boosters at pharmacies in more than a dozen states. A study launched by Kennedy’s appointees reportedly revisits the debunked claim linking childhood autism to vaccines, further alarming health professionals.
Outside government, watchdog groups have condemned Kennedy’s performance. Lisa Gilbert, president of Public Citizen, said Kennedy is “grossly incompetent and unqualified” to lead HHS. “The gaslighting, the lack of health expertise and the personal pseudoscientific agenda that Kennedy continues to flout are sickening and killing Americans,” she said. “Kennedy is throwing us into a health crisis.”
Workplace safety and morale have also deteriorated. On August 8, a gunman opened fire outside CDC offices in Atlanta, killing a police officer and firing more than 200 rounds. Investigators later found the suspect was fixated on COVID vaccines and misinformation. In an August 20 letter signed by 750 federal employees, staffers blamed “politicized rhetoric” for making health workers into targets. “The attack came amid growing mistrust in public institutions, driven by politicized rhetoric that has turned public health professionals from trusted experts into targets of villainization — and now, violence,” the letter stated. It added: “Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is complicit in dismantling America’s public health infrastructure and endangering the nation’s health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information.”
Kennedy’s own family has joined the public criticism. Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III issued a statement calling his uncle “a threat to the health and wellbeing of every American.” He said Kennedy chose “to dismiss science” and “sow confusion.” “The challenge before us—from disease outbreaks to mental health crises—demand moral clarity, scientific expertise, and leadership rooted in fact,” he wrote. “Those values are not present in the Secretary’s office. He must resign.”
Kerry Kennedy, one of his siblings, singled out “the decimation of critical institutions, like the NIH and the CDC.” Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy, was more blunt, posting during the hearing, “RFK LOSER is choking so badly LIVE.” He later added, “Couldn’t agree more – RFK LOSER IS A THREAT TO PUBLIC HEALTH and AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC LEADERSHIP. WHO PLEASURES HIMSELF by lying to Congress.”
President Trump has continued to support Kennedy, even as GOP unease grows. In remarks Friday, Trump called Kennedy’s position on vaccines “a tough stance,” but also distanced himself from the health secretary’s claims. “You have some vaccines that are so incredible, and I think that you have to be very careful when you say that some people don’t have to be vaccinated,” Trump said.
Journalists covering the turmoil described Kennedy as dismissive and unprepared. Julie Rovner of KFF Health News said after the hearing, “He continued to be really rude, and he continued to not know how the department works. Will this make it easier for Republicans to defend him? Probably not.”
With internal staff revolts, ongoing investigations, and bipartisan concern, Kennedy’s future at HHS is increasingly uncertain. Watchdogs and lawmakers alike have warned that the department charged with safeguarding the nation’s health is instead trapped in chaos and controversy. As Gilbert of Public Citizen concluded: “Enough is enough. It’s time for Kennedy to be ousted from his position as secretary of HHS.”
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