Durbin: RFK Jr. Is Unqualified, Unfit, And Dangerous To Lead The Department Of Health And Human Services
WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) outlined his serious concerns with Robert F. Kenney, Jr., President Trump’s nominee to the lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). During his speech Durbin outlined why he opposes Mr. Kennedy’s nomination—pointing to the nominee’s long history of spewing harmful conspiracy theories about life-saving vaccines, the fact that he lacks a basic grasp of our health care system, and given that he approaches the job with an unacceptable bias.
“Our Founding Fathers created a government with checks and balances. What they did not anticipate is that Congress—now currently under Republican control—would voluntarily give away its Constitutional duties. But that’s where we find ourselves—as hospitals and medical researchers, in blue and red states, are in chaos over the Trump Administration’s attempt to usurp Congress’ ‘power of the purse.’ And when Senate Republicans abandon another constitutional responsibility of ‘advice and consent’ for cabinet officials, we are presented with [the] bizarre nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services,” said Durbin.
“HHS is a life or death department of government. Every day, federal health officials decide whether to approve new medications after they are proven to be safe and effective [or] initiate a recall over a contaminated food. We count on that same agency to investigate new therapies for cancer clinical trials. We count on HHS to alert doctors about an emerging disease outbreak… In any of these tasks—critical often historic tasks—Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. would find himself unqualified, unfit, and dangerous to lead the Department of Health and Human Services,” Durbin continued.
Durbin then spoke about Mr. Kennedy’s anti-vaccine stance—in which Mr. Kennedy falsely claims vaccines are linked to autism.
“Mr. Kennedy has spent the past three decades ignoring the science and lying to parents about vaccines, all the while enriching himself by the doubt he has created,” Durbin said. “He has declared, ‘I see somebody on a hiking trail carrying a little baby and I say to him, better not get that baby vaccinated’… He has stated, ‘There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective’… The organization he founded sells newborn onesies declaring ‘Unvaxxed. Unafraid’ and ‘No Vax. No Problem.’”
During his confirmation hearing, Senator Bill Cassidy asked Mr. Kennedy to state unequivocally that the hepatitis B and measles vaccines do not cause autism and Mr. Kennedy failed to do so. When confronted during his hearings about false statements he has made linking vaccines to autism, he feigned ignorance to decades of research findings, and suggested he just needed to be shown the data—data which has been available for decades.
“Mr. Kennedy approaches this job with bias—a deadly, dangerous bias—and he is unwilling to consider information that contradicts his preconceived conspiracies,” Durbin said. “If Mr. Kennedy is confirmed, he won’t just be speaking to one parent on a hiking trail—he will be speaking to all American families from a podium with the U.S. government’s seal on it. That is a terrifying prospect.”
Since 1974, the measles vaccine has saved 94 million lives and since its creation, the smallpox vaccine has saved 200 million lives. Measles is one of the most contagious pathogens on earth. Yet, with Mr. Kennedy’s megaphone online, we are seeing the danger of conspiracy theories. Last year, a record share of kindergarteners across America had a non-medical exemption from vaccinations and right now, there is a measles outbreak tearing through Gaines County, Texas—with seven kids being hospitalized. They are all unvaccinated. Since 1955, the polio vaccine has prevented 20 million people from becoming paralyzed and saved 1.5 million lives.
“I remember it [Polio] as a kid, it scared the hell out of us. A kid could go to school healthy, and could be paralyzed at dinner time,” said Durbin. “A constituent of mine, Mary Ellen from Union County, wrote to me [and said], ‘When I was in kindergarten, my best friend disappeared for weeks. When I asked about her, people just shook their heads—saying polio. When she returned, she could not walk without heavy leg braces—we could hear her cry and scream with pain’… Mr. Kennedy and his associates have filed petitions with the FDA to remove the COVID, hepatitis B, and polio vaccines from the market.”
“But just because he [RFK Jr.] might talk about the right problems doesn’t mean Mr. Kennedy has the right solutions. In fact, over two days of hearings, he did not offer a single concrete idea on how to improve the delivery of primary care or preventive health care services. It was clear Mr. Kennedy didn’t understand the difference between Medicare and Medicaid… And nobody believes Mr. Kennedy will stand up to President Trump or Elon Musk’s assault on medical research. I understand the urge to ‘shake things up’ and address failures of our health care system, but Mr. Kennedy brings an unacceptable prejudice that will only cause harm and be dangerous to American families,” Durbin said.
Durbin concluded, “Make no mistake: if the political tables were turned—he would not get a single Republican vote in the Senate. He would be decried as a pro-choice, anti-vax, uninformed, conspiracy theorist who trades on his family’s name to peddle dangerous misinformation that benefits him financially. And guess what? This nominee is all of those things. But because he was nominated by President Trump, my Republican colleagues can’t wait to march down and support his nomination. Many of them know better. Some of them are doctors or parents themselves who trusted their pediatricians and vaccinated their kids or have spent their careers trying to improve our health care system. They know Mr. Kennedy is not the right choice for the job and they know our children will suffer the most if he becomes HHS Secretary. I hope they’ll find the courage to join me and reject his nomination.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
-30-