Caroline Kennedy Warns Senators: RFK Jr. Is a ‘Predator’ and Unfit for Health Secretary Role
Caroline Kennedy has issued a scathing letter to U.S. senators, urging them to reject her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s nomination as President Donald Trump’s health secretary. Calling him a “predator” addicted to power, Kennedy detailed troubling aspects of his past and accused him of profiting from misinformation.
A Family Divided
Kennedy’s letter, first reported by The Washington Post and obtained by The Associated Press, adds to the growing criticism RFK Jr. has faced from his own family. Last year, several relatives publicly opposed his independent presidential bid.
A former U.S. ambassador to Australia and Japan, Kennedy—daughter of President John F. Kennedy—did not previously comment on her cousin’s candidacy. However, in this letter, she condemns him as unfit for public service.
Disturbing Childhood Accounts
Beyond his controversial anti-vaccine views, Kennedy cited deeply personal accounts from their childhood, describing his behavior as troubling.
“His basement, garage, and dorm were epicenters for drug use,” she wrote. “He would put baby chickens and mice in blenders to feed his hawks. It was often a perverse scene of despair and violence.”
She also recorded and shared the letter in a video posted on social media.
Drug Use and Vaccine Hypocrisy
RFK Jr. has been open about his past heroin addiction, even pleading guilty in 1984 for carrying the drug on an airplane. But Caroline Kennedy argues his harmful behavior extends beyond his past substance abuse.
She accused him of preying on vulnerable parents by discouraging childhood vaccinations—despite vaccinating his own children.
“He profits from the fear he spreads,” she wrote, noting that RFK Jr. earned over $850,000 last year from a lawsuit against pharmaceutical company Merck over Gardasil, a vaccine that prevents cervical cancer.
“He is willing to enrich himself by denying access to a vaccine that can prevent almost all forms of cervical cancer and has been safely administered to millions of boys and girls.”
A Betrayal of the Kennedy Legacy
Caroline Kennedy invoked the legacy of her father, President John F. Kennedy, and uncles Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy—men who dedicated their lives to public service.
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“Unlike Bobby, I try not to speak for my father,” she wrote. “But I am certain that he, my uncle Bobby, and my uncle Teddy—who spent his Senate career improving health care—would be disgusted.”
RFK Jr. Faces Senate Hearings
RFK Jr. is set to appear before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday as part of his confirmation process. Another hearing will follow before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee—the very panel once chaired by his uncle, Ted Kennedy.
Attempts to reach RFK Jr. for comment were unsuccessful.
