Caroline Kennedy, the only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy and a former U.S. ambassador, sent a letter to lawmakers urging them not to confirm her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who she referred to as a ‘predator’ and said was ‘unqualified’ both professionally and personally to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
RFK Jr. is set to sit before two Senate committees on Wednesday and Thursday this week, during which lawmakers will get a chance to probe him about various issues related to his nomination as Health and Human Services Secretary. In advance of those hearings, Caroline sent a letter to senators who will vote on her cousin’s confirmation, explaining why she thinks he should not be allowed to run the federal government’s chief public health agency.
‘Throughout the past year people have asked for my thoughts about my cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr and his presidential campaign. I did not comment, not only because I was serving in a government position as United States Ambassador to Australia, but because I have never wanted to speak publicly about my family members and their challenges,’ Caroline said in a video posted online of her reading the letter. ‘But now that Bobby has been nominated by President Trump to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, a position that would put him in charge of the health of the American people, I feel an obligation to speak.’
In addition to arguing her cousin lacked the relevant government, financial management and medical experience to fill the role of HHS Secretary, Caroline said her cousin’s personal qualities were also a disqualifying factor. In the letter, Caroline called her cousin a ‘predator,’ arguing he has sought to exploit his family’s tragedies for publicity and led his siblings and cousins down a path of addiction.
‘It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets, because Bobby himself is a predator,’ she said. ‘I watched his younger brothers and cousins follow him down the path of drug addiction. His basement, his garage, his dorm room were always the center of the action – where drugs were available and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in a blender to feed to his hawks.’
Caroline did concede that such moments were ‘a long time ago,’ and that she admired her cousin for finding his way out of his addiction. ‘I admire the discipline that took,’ she said. ‘But siblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness and death, while Bobby has gone on to misrepresent, lie and cheat his way through life.’
Caroline added in the letter that her cousin was ‘addicted to attention and power,’ and also accused him of grandstanding ‘off my father’s assassination and that of his own father.’
‘It’s incomprehensible to me that someone who is willing to exploit their own painful family tragedies for publicity would be put in charge of America’s life and death situations.’
She also took shots at her cousin’s views on vaccines in the letter, calling them ‘dangerous and willfully misinformed.’ In the past, Kennedy has posited theories that vaccines cause autism, argued they are not safe for young children, and blamed them for a rise in chronic disease across the United States.
‘Bobby preys on the desperation of parents of sick children, vaccinating his own kids while building a following hypocritically discouraging other parents from vaccinating theirs,’ she said. ‘Overseeing the FDA, the NIH, the CDC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services agencies that are charged with protecting the most vulnerable among us is an enormous responsibility and one that Bobby is unqualified to fill.’
RFK Jr.’s confirmation remains uncertain as both Republicans and Democrats have taken issue with his stance on vaccines and other public health issues. Lawmakers from more rural states have also raised concern over the potential that RFK Jr. could severely disrupt the agriculture sector as a result of his staunch views on healthy eating.
He will face questions from both the Senate Committee on Finance and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions this week. However, only the Finance committee will ultimately vote on whether to advance RFK Jr.’s nomination to a full floor vote.