Friend, I’ve been a registered nurse for 43 years. The thought of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. being confirmed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services terrifies me because he is not willing to accept science as fact or see the value in programs like Medicaid.

In his confirmation hearings, Kennedy railed against Medicaid without fully understanding what the program was or who it served. After a career profiting from spewing dangerous anti-vaccine disinformation that has led to countless deaths, he still refuses to acknowledge vaccines are safe.

Click here and tell your senators to vote NO on confirming RFK Jr. as secretary of health and human services.

The secretary of HHS is a major role that oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, Head Start, and other vital government programs that support Americans’ public health, safety and well-being.

If the administration’s current trajectory is any indication, Kennedy will immediately inject fear, chaos and distrust across the nation. Would we trust him with the pending bird flu crisis or the next coronavirus pandemic? Can we trust him to keep kids safe during cold and flu season? Is he going to condition assistance to our fellow Americans based on conspiracy theories and junk science?

I do not think the nation should risk our public health by having such an unqualified nominee lead HHS.

The vote to confirm RFK Jr. will be close. That’s why, as a nurse, I’m asking you to please send a letter to your senators opposing Kennedy’s nomination.

Thank you for all that you do. Stay safe.

In solidarity,
David Keepnews
Executive Director, Washington State Nurses Association