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Coalition of 40+ groups opposes Kennedy's HHS nomination

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Groups are concerned about Kennedy's potential vaccine

policies

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Advocates target Republican senators to block confirmation

By Michael Erman and Julie Steenhuysen

Dec 16 (Reuters) - An expanding coalition of health and

consumer advocates is campaigning against Robert F. Kennedy

Jr.'s nomination to the top U.S. health job over concerns about

his activism against vaccines and other health issues, according

to the groups' representatives.

Obamacare advocate Protect Our Care, influential consumer

group Public Citizen and Community Catalyst, which fights for

equality in healthcare, are part of a coalition of at least 40

organizations targeting a group of Republican U.S. senators to

help block Kennedy's confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Health

and Human Services.

The Committee to Protect Health Care, a grassroots physician

organization, has also amassed nearly 16,000 signatures from

physicians who oppose Kennedy's nomination.

The efforts come as Kennedy heads to Capitol Hill to win

support following his nomination by President-elect Donald Trump

including by meeting with incoming Senate health committee

chairman Republican Bill Cassidy, a Cassidy staff member

confirmed.

"We're going to work to block his nomination. And I think we

will succeed," said Peter Maybarduk, access to medicines

director of Public Citizen, a consumer group founded by Ralph

Nader in 1971, which has worked for causes including drug safety

and airbags in cars. "Even if RFK Jr. can't amass the power to

take down vaccine funding, elevating his falsehoods to some kind

of officialdom is a danger all its own."

Kennedy has long sown doubts about the safety and efficacy

of vaccines that have helped curb disease and prevent deaths for

decades. He disputes the anti-vaccine label and has said he

would not prevent Americans from getting inoculations, but is a

founder of the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense and

in a 2023 interview with Lex Fridman said no vaccines are safe

and effective.

Kennedy has said he wants to work to end chronic disease,

break any ties between employees at the U.S. drugs regulator and

industry, and advise U.S. water systems to remove fluoride.

Trump has said he will discuss the U.S. childhood vaccination

program with Kennedy, and on Monday said all vaccines should be

looked at.

Kennedy's spokesperson did not respond to a request for

comment. His advocates have said opposition to his nomination

stems from corporate interests.

Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse said the

group has hired lobbying and advocacy teams in more than six

states to try to win over the Republican senators seen as

possible "no" votes given their track records on health issues

or because they are likely to face strong 2026 reelection

challenges.

The groups are also raising money to buy ads and conduct

polling on health issues, they said.

Protect Our Care, which works to defend the Affordable Care

Act, said it will likely hold media briefings with public health

experts and politicians to call attention to Kennedy's policies

as he meets with senators.

Others have opposed the nomination as well. Pfizer ( PFE )

board member Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner under

Trump, told CNBC last month Kennedy's agenda "will cost lives in

this country." The Wall Street Journal's Editorial Board in a

Dec. 4 column wrote that Kennedy could "disrupt access to

life-saving medicines and the innovation ecosystem that creates

them."

HHS has oversight for the FDA, the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

TARGETING SENATORS

Confirmation of Kennedy and other cabinet nominees requires

a majority vote in the Senate. Kennedy needs the backing of 50

out of the 53 Republican senators if all 47 Democrats vote

against him. The advocates are targeting senators in states

including Alaska, Idaho, North Carolina, Iowa, West Virginia and

Maine.

American Values 2024, a Super PAC that supports Kennedy, has

initiated a video campaign defending the nominee.

In a video it posted on social media platform X, Jay Carson,

who used to work for President Bill Clinton and other Democrats

but now supports Kennedy, argues that opposition to Kennedy

stems from a smear campaign by pharmaceutical companies.

"They're determined to keep him out of Washington, D.C.,"

the Super PAC said on X.

The top lobby group for drugmakers, Pharmaceutical Research

and Manufacturers of America, declined to comment. In a Nov. 14

statement, the industry said it wants to work with the Trump

administration.

Community Catalyst, which has raised millions since 1998 to

support equal access to healthcare, said Kennedy's anti-vaccine

rhetoric and position against fluoridated water pushed it to

act.

Mona Shah, Community Catalyst's senior director of policy

and strategy, said the group has worked for decades to improve

dental care access in hard-to-reach communities that face racial

discrimination where removing fluoride from drinking water could

do the greatest harm.

"We really feel that some of these policies would hurt

communities, really endanger children and families and truly

make us sicker as a nation," Shah said.

The Committee to Protect Health Care's petition describes

Kennedy's appointment as a threat to patient safety and "an

affront" to public health. The group accepts no pharmaceutical

industry funding.

Dr. Rob Davidson, the group's executive director and an

emergency room physician in Michigan, said Americans need to be

aware of Kennedy's "very dangerous" positions on topics like

vaccines, and COVID-19 being engineered to target certain racial

populations.

"We want to make sure people understand he's not just a

kooky guy who says weird things," Davidson said.