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Kennedy family urge RFK Jr. to quit after Senate vaccine hearing

RFK Jr. faces bipartisan and family backlash over CDC cuts, vaccine rollout delays after Senate grilling

Weekend Editor

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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced grilling from the Senate on Thursday and calls to resign from his own family. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced grilling from the Senate on Thursday and calls to resign from his own family. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)

The rift within America’s most famous political family widened Friday as multiple Kennedys publicly called for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign following his contentious testimony before the Senate Finance Committee.

In a blistering statement, Kerry Kennedy, RFK Jr.’s sister and president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, accused her brother of “undermining trust in science” and “endangering lives” with his restrictive vaccine policies. “This is not what our father stood for,” she wrote, urging him to step down “before more harm is done.”

Former Congressman Joe Kennedy III, RFK Jr.’s nephew, echoed the demand, saying on X that his uncle has become “a threat to public health.” He added: “None of us will be spared from the consequences if this continues.”

Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy, used even sharper language, posting during Thursday’s hearing that “RFK LOSER is choking so badly LIVE,” a viral moment that underscored the family’s deep frustration.

Thursday’s Senate hearing was marked by bipartisan criticism of Kennedy’s leadership, particularly his moves to slash CDC funding and restrict vaccine distribution programs. Lawmakers from both parties pressed him on rising measles outbreaks and delays in routine childhood immunizations, calling his policies “dangerous” and “unscientific.”

The unprecedented public rebuke highlights the political and personal stakes of RFK Jr.’s tenure as HHS secretary and suggests mounting pressure from both Congress and his own family could force a reckoning over his future in the Trump administration.

By CK Smith

CK Smith is Salon's weekend editor.

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