RFK Jr. Must Be Removed—Before More Damage Is Done, Before More Lives are Lost

We are physicians who have spent our careers caring for our patients, protecting them from preventable illnesses. We refuse to remain silent while the nation’s top health agency is turned into a megaphone for dangerous misinformation. As members of Physicians for a Healthy Democracy, a national, grassroots coalition of more than 3,000 physicians and medical students, we are calling for the removal of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was nominated for Secretary of Health and Human Services, many of us warned this would be unwise. His decades-long crusade against vaccines, his embrace of conspiracy theories, and his ties to dangerous fringe groups made him unfit to lead America’s health agencies.  We underestimated the damage one person could cause.

Since taking office, RFK Jr. has launched a full-scale assault on the nation’s public health infrastructure, taking steps we know will cost a growing number of innocent lives.
        •       He purged the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, replacing respected experts with anti-vaccine activists and discredited figures.
        •       He has interfered with vaccine recommendations, putting millions of children, pregnant women, and immunocompromised Americans at risk.
        •       He has attacked basic public health protections, from food safety regulations to disease surveillance programs.
        •       He has silenced scientists and whistleblowers who dared to speak out.
        •       He has invited lobbyists and ideologues to shape health policy based on politics, not science.

        •       He has defunded nearly 500 million dollars in mRNA vaccine research, which is a major public health setback. Kennedy is putting all of us at risk for future pandemics and causing a blow to the latest in cancer research. mRNA technology is proven safe and effective.  No other developed country has taken such an extreme step or sought to cast doubt on its safety, efficacy, and role in protecting public health. 

He lied under oath during his confirmation hearings, falsely claiming he would not interfere with the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel or with public access to immunizations. Soon afterward, he broke that promise.

This is not a difference of opinion. It is scientific vandalism.

America is already suffering as the result of RFK Jr.’s leadership.  Measles, once declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, is now resurging.  We are seeing more cases now than we have in decades.   This is inexcusable.  Measles is a vaccine preventable illness. America cannot afford to let this continue. RFK Jr.’s reckless policies are already undermining trust in medicine and endangering lives.  We need competent leadership at the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Florida's move to eliminate all vaccine requirements is a dangerous step backward for public health.  While this action did not originate directly from RFK Jr., it reflects his long-standing anti-vaccine ideology.  He has said he would come after all vaccines, and Florida shows how quickly those words can turn into policy.  This is exactly why our petition is urgent, to protect science, safeguard public health, and prevent outbreaks of diseases we know how to stop.

We demand:
        1.      The immediate removal of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from his post as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
        2.      The restoration of independent, science-based leadership at HHS and its agencies.

Health policy must be guided by evidence, not conspiracy theories.  Health policy must make us healthier, not place us all in danger.

If you care about science, public health, and the safety of your family and community, please sign this petition and share it widely.

Enough is enough.