RFK Jr. Faces Bipartisan Backlash Over Leadership, Policy Shifts

DAILY Bites

• Six former U.S. surgeons general, serving under both parties, warn that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s policies are “endangering the health of the nation,” citing weakened vaccine programs and staff dismissals.

• Psychiatric organizations say Kennedy’s portrayal of mental health treatments in federal reports spreads misinformation and could limit patient access to essential medications.

• A new KFF poll finds 59% of Americans disapprove of Kennedy’s performance, with deep partisan divides over trust in his leadership and the direction of federal health policy.

DAILY Discussion

Perhaps Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thought he was doing the right thing with his Make America Healthy Again Commission reports — or perhaps he’s focused only on his ideological agenda or trying to make the most money he can for himself and his allies. No matter his motives, Kennedy’s actions as a Cabinet secretary have drawn strong criticism from medical and psychiatric organizations, and he continues to see his popularity in public polling plummet.

In September, more than 1,000 current HHS employees spoke out in an open letter calling for Kennedy to resign. Now, according to NPR, two professional groups, the Southern California Psychiatry Society and the Committee to Protect Public Mental Health, have called for Kennedy’s removal as health secretary.

This amplified backlash comes after the MAHA Commission’s second report was released and after Kennedy made good on his timeline to find a scapegoat for Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnoses by September (he infamously blamed mothers who took acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, during pregnancy).

“The MAHA report specifically misrepresents the data on psychotropic medications, really ignoring the full body of the scientific literature,” said Dr. Emily Wood, co-chair of the Southern California Psychiatric Society. “It is calling for various ways to limit access to psychiatric medications, which is extremely disturbing as these are medications that are critical for many individuals with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, ADHD, and many disorders.”

Dr. Steven Sharfstein, a past president of the American Psychiatric Association, told NPR that MAHA’s proposed restructuring of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which Kennedy has sought to consolidate under a new “Administration for a Healthy America,” has already led to staff dismissals and reduced federal support for overdose prevention efforts.

“We’ll see a kind of rolling crisis occur,” Sharfstein said.

In a statement to NPR, HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard said: “Secretary Kennedy remains firmly committed to delivering on President Trump’s promise to Make America Healthy Again by dismantling the failed status quo, restoring public trust in health institutions, and ensuring the transparency, accountability, and decision-making power the American people voted for.”

Bipartisan warning from former surgeons general

Six former U.S. surgeons general: Jerome Adams, Richard Carmona, Joycelyn Elders, Vivek Murthy, Antonia Novello, and David Satcher, also issued a joint warning this week about Kennedy’s leadership. Writing in The Washington Post and reported by The Guardian, they said that policy changes enacted under his direction were “endangering the health of the nation.”

“Never before have we issued a joint public warning like this,” they wrote. “But the profound, immediate, and unprecedented threat that Kennedy’s policies and positions pose to the nation’s health cannot be ignored.”

The former officials cited reductions in vaccine eligibility, cuts to mRNA research funding, and the dismissal of scientific advisors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as examples of decisions driven by ideology rather than science. “Science and expertise have taken a back seat to ideology and misinformation,” the letter stated. “Morale has plummeted in our health agencies, and talent is fleeing at a time when we face rising threats, from resurgent infectious diseases to worsening chronic illnesses.”

Polls show divided public opinion

A new KFF poll found that 59 percent of Americans disapprove of Kennedy’s performance as health secretary. Trust levels were sharply divided along partisan lines: Republicans were as likely to trust Kennedy “as their own health care provider,” while Democrats and independents expressed strong disapproval.

Ashley Kirzinger, associate director of polling at KFF, said that “what people believe about health increasingly depends on how they feel about politics.” She added that “as people are going to different sources of information to make decisions around their health care, we’re going to see partisanship playing a big role in what people decide to do.”

The KFF poll follows polling reported several weeks ago by CNN, where Kennedy was actually the most popular member of Trump’s Cabinet. There was, however, a big caveat: More people (7 percentage points more) view him unfavorably rather than favorably, suggesting just how negatively the whole of the Cabinet is being viewed.