Calls grow for RFK Jr. to step down as HHS secretary

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing mounting backlash.

(CNN)- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing mounting backlash, with more than a thousand current and former HHS employees calling for his resignation.

In a six-page letter, staff accused Kennedy of undermining the agency’s mission, citing mass firings at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the appointment of political loyalists, and the rescinding of COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations.

“It’s just terrible going into work each day seeing Secretary Kennedy destroying that work and actively endangering the American people,” said Dr. Ian Morgan, a scientist at the National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy’s past remarks on vaccines and race have also fueled criticism. He has previously claimed, “There’s no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective,” and suggested that “Blacks need fewer antigens.”

Lawmakers including Senators Patty Murray and Bernie Sanders, along with Representative Rosa DeLauro, have joined calls for his removal. Still, not all members of Congress are ready to take a firm stand. “People are going to try to make this something more than it is,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana). “We got to get to the truth because there are serious allegations.”

Despite the growing controversy, some experts believe Kennedy’s position is secure. “Given how many outrageous things he’s already done and gotten away with, I think he’s learned that as long as Donald Trump is on his side, he’s fine,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.