Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met with multiple senators on Capitol Hill this week, striving to gain enough votes to be confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services in January.
The HHS manages 13 agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Outside of Washington, supporters of the former Democrat and independent presidential candidate are involved in a widespread grassroots effort to see that Kennedy gets a chance to implement his Make America Healthy Again platform.
“Support for RFK Jr. reflects a widespread discontent with the status quo—a frustration that transcends party lines and political affiliations,” Sayer Ji, founder of GreenMedInfo.com and cofounder of Stand For Health Freedom, told The Epoch Times.
“America’s health policies often set a precedent for the world. If RFK Jr. can lead a transformative shift here, the ripple effect on global health care systems could be profound—fostering a renewed trust in the relationship between governments and their citizens,” Ji said.
The group has a concurrent petition that opposes President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Janette Nesheiwat as U.S. Surgeon General, which notes she “publicly supported censorship during a world-wide health emergency.”
In August, Kennedy ended his White House bid and threw his support behind Trump, who last month nominated him to serve as HHS secretary.
In January, Kennedy will appear at confirmation hearings with the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees the HHS and is scheduled to be led by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).
If the panel approves Kennedy, the full Senate will vote on his nomination. Senate Republicans will have a 53–47 voting majority over Democrats and independents who caucus with them.
The possibility of Kennedy becoming HHS secretary has drawn widespread criticism, too.
Peter G. Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said in a statement that the center “opposes this nomination and any other nominees who are a direct threat to science and evidence-based solutions.”
“Nominating an anti-vaxxer like Kennedy to HHS is like putting a Flat Earther at the head of NASA,” he wrote.
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, said in a statement that Kennedy “is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health” and should not be “placed in charge of the nation’s public health agency.”
Multiple Democrat lawmakers have echoed Lurie and Weissmann, calling Kennedy “dangerous” and an “anti-vaxxer.”
Protect Our Care, a progressive advocacy group, announced on Dec. 16 that its “Stop RFK War Room” effort is debuting a multi-media campaign across several states urging senators to oppose Kennedy’s nomination.
The group said its targeted senators include Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Curtis (R-Utah), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Sen.-elect Jim Justice (R-W.Va.).
The campaign includes paid advertisements and 18 billboards in seven states.
“RFK Jr. doesn’t have the experience and skills to run major health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid that over 125 million Americans rely on for their health care.”
Kennedy “wants to decimate funding for research into treatments and cures,” Woodhouse said.
“His beliefs could lead to a deadly resurgence of preventable childhood illnesses like polio and measles.”
Meanwhile, Kennedy has received public support from multiple Republican senators.
Earlier this week, the congressional Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) caucus was formed by a group of lawmakers.
Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) are the founding members.
The purpose of the caucus, according to a statement, is to cultivate partnerships with officials at the local, state, and federal levels who are interested in MAHA initiatives.
Other objectives include establishing educational campaigns to promote nutritional awareness and healthier lifestyles, addressing chronic diseases, and increasing access to affordable, nutrition-rich foods.
More than 800 medical professionals have so far signed an open letter asking senators to confirm Kennedy, in an effort by a group called MAHA Action.
“The conventional approaches of the past have failed to reverse our declining health outcomes,” the letter reads.
“In the early 1980s, fewer than 13 percent of U.S. children suffered from a chronic condition. Today, that figure has soared to nearly 60 percent,” it states.
“Chronic disease and mental health now account for 90 percent of the nation’s $4.3 trillion in annual health care expenditures. These trends are not just unsustainable—they are existential.”
Kennedy’s “unwavering commitment to scientific transparency and his determination to address the root causes of illness make him uniquely qualified to lead HHS,” according to the letter.
Leaders of grassroots organizations told The Epoch Times that the makeup of the new-look Senate was encouraging for Kennedy supporters, but there is no guarantee that he will get 51 votes.
“Leaving RFK Jr.’s confirmation to legislators and political advisers alone would miss the transformative opportunity this movement represents,” Ji told The Epoch Times.
“This nomination is about reimagining a health care system that is accountable to the people. For that to happen, the people themselves must shape this process.”
Jeff Hutt is the outreach director for the Make America Healthy Again PAC and a former national field director for Kennedy’s presidential campaign.
Hutt told The Epoch Times on Dec. 16 that the PAC, which was formed in September, has shifted its focus to helping Kennedy gain confirmation.
“The Kennedy campaign was a movement, and not just a typical political campaign. Trump is giving Kennedy a position where he can be most effective, and his supporters want to see that,” Hutt said.
The MAHA PAC in 2025 will concentrate on supporting candidates at the state and local levels who embrace the MAHA platform, Hutt said.
Until then, it is “helping lead the movement to let senators know why he [Kennedy] should lead the HHS.”
Mississippi Parents for Vaccine Rights has urged its state’s senators—Republicans Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith—to support Kennedy’s confirmation.
President of the group, MaryJo Perry said she would like to see the CDC’s vaccine schedule addressed and that pharmaceutical companies be held liable if their products injure recipients.
Signed by President Ronald Reagan, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 provided immunity from liability to vaccine manufacturers over vaccine injury claims.
“[Kennedy] is heavily opposed by Big Pharma because he’s a threat to their big, powerful machine. That machine wants to keep its power so it will spend as much money and try to exert as much influence as possible for elected officials,” Perry told The Epoch Times.
“We have to make more noise so our elected officials know we can always unelect them if they don’t support what their constituents want,” she said.
Perry praised Kennedy for making the decision to leave the presidential race and back Trump in August. She believes that move helped Trump win some states.
“Now those supporters are speaking up to let senators know they want him to be Secretary of Health and Human Services,” Perry said.
“Many elected officials risk losing future support from medical freedom voters if that doesn’t happen.”
