With less than two weeks remaining before the Senate voted on his Cabinet nomination, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confronted the latest in a series of problems. The New York Times reported that the conspiracy theorist, in response to written questions from senators, “disclosed he had reached at least one settlement agreement with a company or individual that had accused him of ‘misconduct or inappropriate behavior.’”
According to Mother Jones’ reporting, senators asked two specific questions: “Yes or no, have you ever reached a settlement agreement with an individual or organization that accused you of misconduct or inappropriate behavior?” and “Yes or no, have you ever agreed to or been subject to a non-disclosure agreement with any individual or organization?”
Kennedy answered yes to both questions. He did not, however, elaborate, and no one on Capitol Hill — or the public at large — knows what the misconduct is.
In a normal political environment, this would be the sort of development that would have put his nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services at risk. In fact, in a normal political environment, Kennedy wouldn’t have even been nominated. But in our current political environment, RFK Jr. was confirmed to the powerful position anyway. My MSNBC colleague Clarissa-Jan Lim explained:
The Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy as health secretary on Thursday, putting one of the most prominent anti-vaccine activists in charge of running the country’s public health policy. Kennedy was confirmed on a 52-48 vote. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was the only Republican who voted against Kennedy’s confirmation alongside Democrats.
At this point, it’s tempting to go into great detail, making plain just how utterly bonkers this is. I could write thousands of words about Kennedy’s discredited ideas, bizarre conspiracy theories, opposition to vaccines, personal scandals, lack of experience, and well-documented record as an international menace on matters of science and public health. I’d add in some related thoughts, noting that were it not for his famous name and family, Kennedy would be considered a fringe figure with a handful of Substack subscribers, not a Cabinet secretary.
But I’m going to assume that readers already know this. I’m instead going to shine a light on what I consider to be the single biggest concern about Kennedy and our near future: Americans might confront serious public health challenges during his tenure, and we won’t be able to count on the man leading HHS.
The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof recently wrote a good column along these lines:
One of the biggest potential threats to this country — albeit one difficult to gauge — is an avian flu pandemic, for bird flu is mutating and spreading to cows and other mammals. If there is a pandemic, then vaccines will be essential. … What would happen if there were a need for another Operation Warp Speed, but this time the point man on health was suspicious of vaccines — including those that arrested the last pandemic?
The burgeoning H5N1 threat is serious, but it’s not the only public health challenge facing the nation. We’re also in the midst of a deadly flu season. Kansas is dealing with a tuberculosis outbreak. Texas is dealing with a measles outbreak. In the coming months, Americans might face any number of related threats that remain unpredictable.
And that’s just in this country. There are countless areas around in the world — with populations that travel — with their own health emergencies.
It’s against this backdrop that the Department of Health and Human Services will be led by a conspiracy theorist who has demonstrated a yearslong hostility toward science and evidence.
Remember the names of the 52 Republican senators who decided to put aside everything they learned about Kennedy and voted to confirm him anyway. They might soon be asked a profoundly difficult question: “Why didn’t you protect us from RFK Jr. when you had the chance?”
