Opposition to the Nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Dear Senators, 

The undersigned organizations wish to convey our sincere and urgent concerns with President Donald  Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). The  nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK), a notorious proponent of radical conspiracy theories with a deep disdain for science, to HHS Secretary represents one of the greatest threats to both U.S. and global health in our nation’s history. We urge the Senate to protect the health of our nation’s inhabitants, including LGBTQI+ people, by rejecting the nomination of this unqualified and conspiratorially-driven figurehead. 

We look to the Secretary of HHS to protect the health and well-being of all people. The Secretary must  implement evidence-based policies rooted in equity, compassion, and scientific rigor. But through his words  and actions, RFK Jr. has consistently proven he is incapable of grasping, let alone upholding, these basic  principles — particularly for ensuring policy recommendations are grounded in scientific evidence and do not promote disinformation. This is especially alarming given the rising deployment of disinformation and junk science used to undermine access to critical care for LGBTQI+ people, endangering tens of thousands of lives. The nomination of such an unqualified figurehead risks the health and safety of the public, including the LGBTQI+ community. Appointing him to the office of HHS Secretary would escalate the use of dangerous disinformation about our communities’ healthcare needs and would result in attacks on critical healthcare coverage and funding for medical research. 

HHS is charged with funding and producing rigorous research and properly communicating its findings to the public. RFK Jr. demonstrates a foundational misunderstanding of medical science and public health and also an utter contempt for them, which would endanger the lives of LGBTQI+ people, including people with HIV and their families. His contempt is on full display in his proud declarations that he intends to eliminate funding for lifesaving treatments and cures, such as for chronic conditions, and fire hundreds of employees at the National Institutes of Health. For example, RFK Jr. has openly questioned the etiological relationship between HIV and AIDS, suggesting that drug use, not HIV, may cause AIDS. His dismissal of the well-
established medical consensus that HIV is the virus that causes AIDS could lead to cutting critical HIV-related medical research. At a time when federal and state-level attacks on access to HIV/AIDS-related preventive and treatment services continue, we cannot charge RFK Jr. with leading our country’s primary public health agency. 

Download the full letter here