1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to use every authority available to Congress to press for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s removal or resignation as Secretary of Health and Human Services. This is no longer simply a disagreement over health policy. Secretary Kennedy has repeatedly promoted unsupported medical claims, dismantled established scientific advisory structures, weakened federal public-health capacity, and made sweeping decisions affecting vaccine research and policy. Newly released documents also appear to contradict representations he made to senators during his confirmation process about his 2019 trip to Samoa. I am particularly alarmed by what has happened to food-safety capacity under his leadership. At a time of repeated recalls and outbreaks involving Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, Cyclospora, infant botulism, contaminated produce, eggs, dairy products, and other foods, Kennedy's restructuring eliminated personnel supporting FDA inspections, laboratory testing, and urgent safety communications. This weakened a food-inspection system that federal watchdogs had already found was failing to inspect enough facilities on time. Americans should not have to wonder whether their food, medicine, or vaccines are less safe because the institutions charged with protecting them have been stripped of expertise and capacity. HHS oversees the CDC, FDA, and NIH. Whatever one's politics, their leader must demonstrate exceptional factual reliability, scientific integrity, candor with Congress, and a commitment to protecting the public from preventable harm. Kennedy's cumulative record no longer meets that standard. Please publicly call for his resignation and use congressional oversight, investigations, hearings, appropriations authority, resolutions, and every other lawful mechanism available to press the administration to replace him.