Americans Are Concerned About RFK Jr. as Health Secretary

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A new poll showed that more than half of Americans oppose the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.

Why It Matters

On January 29, RFK Jr. faced a confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee after being nominated to head up the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by President Donald Trump following the 2024 presidential election.

The former environmental lawyer and son of late U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy has a history of making comments questioning vaccines, including saying that "there's no vaccine that is safe and effective."

His views have raised concern among lawmakers and medical professionals.

What to Know

The poll conducted by Public Policy Polling of 517 registered voters between January 24 and 25 found that 51 percent oppose Kennedy's nomination, and 41 percent support it.

Newsweek contacted Kennedy's team via email for comment outside of regular working hours.

Some 61 percent of respondents said they had "very serious concerns" about his views on vaccines, while a further 10 percent said they had "somewhat serious concerns." Thirty-three percent of Republicans said they either have very serious or somewhat serious concerns on the same topic.

During his Senate hearing, Kennedy denied he is anti-vaccines, saying: "News reports have claimed that I'm anti-vaccine or anti-industry. I am neither."

Of those polled, 49 percent said having someone who is anti-vaccines in charge of the HHS was a "very serious" threat to public health. Just under a third (31 percent) said a vaccine skeptic heading up the HHS was not a threat.

Some of Kennedy's other views were also out of step with what voters want: 54 percent said they have very serious concerns that Kennedy has proposed a freeze on infectious disease research. Last November, Kennedy said: "I'm gonna say to NIH scientists, 'God bless you all. Thank you for public service. We're going to give infectious disease a break for about eight years.'"

If confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy will be responsible for overseeing multiple federal agencies, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health, the latter being the largest provider of federal research funding for universities, distributing over $30 billion in funding in 2022.

The poll also found that 61 percent of respondents have very serious concerns (49 percent) or somewhat serious concerns (12 percent) that Trump's HHS pick does not have "the experience and is not qualified to run a major department, especially one that administers vital programs like Medicare and Medicaid."

What People Are Saying

Kennedy said during his confirmation hearing: "I believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care. All of my kids are vaccinated. I've written many books on vaccines. My first book on vaccines in 2014, the first line in it is 'I'm not anti-vaccine,' and the last line is 'I'm not anti-vaccine.'"

Senator Ron Wyden said during Wednesday's Senate hearing: "He has made it his life's work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids life-saving vaccines. It has been lucrative for him and put him on the verge of immense power."

Kirsten Hokeness, director at the School of Behavioral Health and Science at Bryant University, told Newsweek: "Broadly speaking, his appointment is concerning on all levels. The one thing I can say is a good thing, is his desire to look at chronic disease in America and make that a priority. I worry that he will greatly shift the priorities of HHS and turn his position of power into a means to spread disinformation, misinformation and purposefully spread misleading information to the public."

Edward J. Markey, the junior United States senator from Massachusetts, said in an opinion piece for Newsweek published on January 29: "In short, the stakes for nominating a secretary are life and death. Americans deserve a leader who is prepared, capable, and serious about protecting their health. Mr. Kennedy's record, however, proves that he does not meet this standard.