Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III, nephew of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., demanded on Friday that he resign from his post, arguing that he ‘dismissed science, misled the public, sidelined experts and sowed confusion’ during a Senate hearing this week.
Joe Kennedy III, who served as U.S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland under former President Joe Biden, released the following statement on X:
Robert Kennedy Jr. is a threat to the health and wellbeing of every American. A United States Secretary of Health and Human Services is tasked with protecting the public health of our country and its people. At yesterday’s hearing, he chose to do the opposite: to dismiss science, mislead the public, sideline experts and sow confusion.
None of us will be spared the pain he is inflicting. It doesn’t matter how rich or powerful you are or what state you live in — the heartbreak of watching a loved one fall ill knows no borders.
The challenges before us—from disease outbreaks to mental health crises—demand moral clarity, scientific expertise, and leadership rooted in fact.
He concluded by claiming that “those values are not present” in RFK Jr.’s leadership and calling for his resignation.
The call adds to growing criticism from Democrats and some in the public health sector of Kennedy Jr.’s tenure since his appointment by President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, more than 1,000 current and former Department of Health and Human Services employees signed a letter accusing him of compromising the nation’s health and demanding his resignation. Around that time, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) accused Kennedy of “gross mismanagement” and insisted he should step down.
Democrats have intensified their attacks over the past two weeks following the firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez, which prompted several senior CDC officials to resign. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) declared Tuesday that the firings amounted to the “destruction of the CDC,” while Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) previously called Kennedy a “lunatic” and urged his removal. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) went further Thursday, denouncing Kennedy as “the biggest threat to the health of the American people.”
Former public health officials and medical professionals have also raised concerns. CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner cautioned Americans “not to trust” HHS leadership, while former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield stated Kennedy should more “aggressively embrace the value of vaccines.”
Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, has defended his actions as necessary reforms to restore trust in public health institutions. At Thursday’s Senate hearing, he pushed back against Democratic lawmakers, insisting his changes to the CDC and vaccine advisory committees were in the public’s best interest and rejecting accusations that he endangered Americans’ health. He also accused the Biden administration of manipulating abortion pill safety data, pledging to conduct a full review through the FDA.
This is not the first time the Kennedy family has publicly broken ranks with one of its own. In July 2023, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at a private dinner with journalists in New York that scientific evidence showing coronavirus affected some groups more severely than others raised concerns that future bioweapons could be engineered to target certain ethnicities. Kerry Kennedy issued a statement condemning what she described as her brother’s “deplorable and untruthful remarks,” while Joe Kennedy III posted on social media that he also rejected them.
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