The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons is honored to support President Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for Secretary of Health and Human Services. It will be a welcome change to have a leader who prioritizes Americans’ health and autonomy in medical decisions while promoting a culture of transparency, open debate, and sound decision making. We applaud his desire to “clean up corruption, stop the revolving door between industry and government, and return our health agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science.”
The past administration, in contrast, pushed an agenda that benefits special interests and political friends, at the expense of patients and the medical professionals who care for them.
Entities benefiting from the status quo have launched a fierce campaign to smear and disparage Mr. Kennedy. A group calling itself the “Committee to Protect Health Care” portrays itself as a grassroots effort to drum up outrage opposing his nomination. The funders of this campaign are unknown, and their statement in opposition to RFK, Jr. is misleading.
Public health leaders are ignoring the real health crises that afflict our nation and are neglecting their duty to investigate concerns physicians and patients have about the safety and efficacy of products HHS agencies develop, approve, promote, and sometimes even profit from financially.
Mr. Kennedy has a history of asking serious questions about medical policies and products that deserve scrutiny and unbiased scientific study. Because of these efforts, opponents of Mr. Kennedy incorrectly and unjustly label him as a “conspiracy theorist” and “anti-vax.” These aspersions do not accurately reflect his decades of work to protect foundational principles of medical ethics that respect both patient and physician autonomy and safety. Public confidence has indeed been undermined, not by RFK Jr’s questions and demand for evidence, but by the industry and regulators refusing to answer them and denying the possibility or importance of serious adverse reactions.
AAPS gives its full support to the nomination of RFK, Jr., as Secretary of HHS. We urge the Senate to quickly approve President Trump’s choice to lead this agency and look forward to working with Mr. Kennedy to improve the availability, safety, affordability, and quality of medical care options available to citizens of the United States.
Respectfully submitted,
Erika LeBaron, D.O.
AAPS President
P.S. This letter has been co-signed by 629 physicians (MD or DO), 108 individuals with a PhD degree, 27 pharmacists, 87 medical professionals serving as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, 445 individuals with a degree in a different medical field, and 2296 patient supporters.
