Our union deplores the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as our nation’s next health secretary.
AFSCME President Lee Saunders explained why Kennedy is a terrible choice. In a statement Thursday, Saunders said Kennedy’s values “could not be further” from those of AFSCME front-line health care workers.
“Instead of increasing our communities’ access to vital care, he is only interested in increasing profits for his billionaire backers,” Saunders said. “RFK Jr. has made it clear that he will execute his boss’s orders to dismantle critical HHS programs. … He is an accomplice in their plan to rob our most vulnerable communities of critical health services to make the ultra-rich even richer.”
The Senate confirmed Kennedy as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday. The vote was 52-48 along party lines. The only Republican to vote no was Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a survivor of childhood polio.
AFSCME members on the front lines of our health care system are doctors, nurses, EMTs and more. They make sacrifices every day to care for the health of our communities, and they need a leader at HHS who shares their values — not RFK Jr.
Kennedy is a vaccine skeptic who traffics in conspiracy theories. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he tried to revoke the authorization of all COVID vaccines as thousands of Americans were dying every week. He claimed that the risks of the vaccines outweighed the benefits, shocking health experts. The vaccines went on to save millions of lives.
As the head of HHS, Kennedy will be a threat to our public health system and the well-being of all Americans. He is likely to help dismantle critical HHS programs such as Head Start, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Medicaid, which benefit millions of lower-income families. He could also help end negotiations to lower prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, including the $35 cap on insulin.
Anti-worker extremists in Congress want to make huge cuts to Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the rich and Kennedy is likely to aid and abet these draconian moves. Such cuts would be devastating to workers, patients and communities. They would drive up health care costs, threaten the health care workforce and lead to economic instability.
But AFSCME members will never quit on our communities.
“We will keep organizing to make sure that Kennedy and his anti-worker friends don’t get in the way of their essential work,” Saunders said.
We will continue organizing to protect public services, defend workers’ rights and fight back. It’s time to Get Organized.