A new national coalition of health professionals and scientists, mobilized to oppose the Senate’s confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the next Secretary of Health of the United States, issued a statement Public speech He warned Monday that his “fringe and baseless beliefs could significantly undermine public health practices across the country and around the world.”
The coalition, which calls itself Public Health Advocacy, includes faculty from some of the leading academic institutions in the United States, including the schools of public health at Yale and Harvard universities. Its leaders said they collected 700 signatures on the public letter and it was released 3500 individual messages Senators urged to reject Mr. Kennedy’s pick, President-elect Donald J. Trump, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Mr. Kennedy is not qualified to lead the nation’s Department of Health with a budget of more than $1.6 trillion and more than 80,000 employees,” the public letter said. “He has little relevant administrative, political, or health care experience or expertise that would prepare him to oversee the The work of important public health agencies.”
Over the past several weeks, Mr. Kennedy has made the rounds on Capitol Hill, paying courtesy visits to senators who will consider his nomination. His confirmation is uncertain, with some Republicans, including Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, chairman of the Senate Health Committee, saying Mr. Kennedy’s skepticism of the vaccine is giving them pause.
The letter published Monday is just the latest public campaign by Kennedy’s opponents. Separate groupThe Committee to Protect Health Care said last week that it had collected more than 15,000 signatures message Mr. Kennedy’s opposition.
But Kennedy’s allies in the medical field are also mobilizing. In December, shortly after Mr. Trump announced his candidacy, A group of 800 medical professionals She issued her own letter in support of Mr. Kennedy. She said his nomination “represents an unparalleled opportunity to restore the health of our nation and renew confidence in our public health institutions.”