Vermont senator Bernie Sanders has issued a forceful call for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to step down as Donald Trump’s secretary of health and human services, warning that the administration’s embrace of Kennedy’s anti-vaccine agenda is threatening the health of millions of Americans.
In an op-ed published in The New York Times on Saturday, Sanders accused Kennedy of “endangering the health of the American people now and into the future” through his longstanding crusade against vaccines and his willingness to elevate conspiracy theories over scientific consensus. “He must resign,” Sanders declared flatly.
Clash Over Public Health Leadership
The demand comes amid mounting turmoil inside the nation’s health agencies. Earlier this week, Susan Monarez, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was fired after she reportedly refused to serve as a “rubber stamp” for Kennedy’s policies. Four additional senior CDC officials resigned in protest, citing concerns of political interference and disregard for medical evidence.
Sanders argued that these actions illustrate a dangerous pattern. “Mr. Kennedy and the rest of the Trump administration tell us, over and over, that they want to Make America Healthy Again. That’s a great slogan. I agree with it,” Sanders wrote. “The problem is that since coming into office President Trump and Mr. Kennedy have done exactly the opposite.”
Sanders’ Criticism
The Vermont senator, who has long championed universal health care, blasted Kennedy’s record of vaccine skepticism.
“Despite the overwhelming opposition of the medical community, Secretary Kennedy has continued his longstanding crusade against vaccines and his advocacy of conspiracy theories that have been rejected repeatedly by scientific experts,” Sanders wrote.
He singled out Kennedy’s past claim that “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective,” calling it “absurd” and “reckless.” He further noted that one of Kennedy’s preferred experts on vaccines lost his medical license and had his research retracted for fraud.
“The reality is that Secretary Kennedy has profited from and built a career on sowing mistrust in vaccines,” Sanders argued. “Now, as head of HHS, he is using his authority to launch a full-blown war on science, on public health, and on truth itself.”
Impact on Access to Care
Sanders warned that Kennedy’s influence was already making it harder for ordinary Americans to access lifesaving care. He pointed to recent policy changes that effectively removed COVID-19 vaccines from coverage for many younger adults and children, unless they navigate additional doctor’s visits and bureaucratic hurdles.
“This means more doctor’s visits, more bureaucracy and more people paying higher out-of-pocket costs — if they can manage to get a vaccine at all,” Sanders wrote.
He also warned that Kennedy’s next target could be the nation’s childhood immunization schedule, which includes vaccines for diseases such as measles, chickenpox, and polio. Weakening those standards, Sanders said, risks the reemergence of illnesses that were once nearly eradicated. “The danger here is that diseases that have been virtually wiped out because of safe and effective vaccines will resurface and cause enormous harm,” he said.
Mounting Pushback Against Kennedy
Sanders’ demand follows a wave of dissent within the scientific community. Last week, more than 750 current and former employees of U.S. health agencies signed a letter condemning Kennedy as an “existential threat to public health.” The letter accused him of being “complicit in dismantling America’s public health infrastructure” and of spreading falsehoods that undermine public trust.
The controversy intensified earlier this month after a deadly shooting at CDC headquarters in Atlanta, where a gunman influenced by vaccine misinformation opened fire, killing a police officer before taking his own life. Critics cited the attack as an example of how dangerous rhetoric around vaccines can fuel real-world violence.
Meanwhile, bipartisan unease is growing in Congress. The firings at the CDC and Kennedy’s open defiance of scientific norms have triggered questions about whether the Trump administration’s health policies are guided more by politics than public safety.
Kennedy’s Defiance
Despite the criticism, Kennedy has shown no sign of stepping aside. Since taking office, he has repeatedly dismissed mainstream science, describing himself as a crusader against what he calls “corrupt health bureaucracies.” His defenders argue that he is challenging entrenched interests and giving voice to Americans distrustful of pharmaceutical companies.
But Sanders and other critics counter that his leadership risks undoing decades of progress in public health.
A Battle Over the Future of Public Health
The clash over Kennedy’s role reflects deeper tensions in the Trump administration’s second term. With sweeping cuts to health agencies, rising political interference, and escalating conflicts between science and ideology, the country’s public health system is facing one of its most severe crises in decades.
For Sanders, the stakes could not be clearer. “Secretary Kennedy’s repeated attacks against science and vaccines will make it more difficult for Americans to obtain lifesaving vaccines,” he wrote. “He must resign before he causes irreversible harm.”
As the pressure builds, the fate of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be a test not just of Trump’s loyalty to his controversial appointee, but of America’s commitment to science in the face of political upheaval.
