Action Item: Senators Must Oppose the Nominees to Lead HHS and NIH
Urgent! Ask your two U.S. Senators to Oppose HHS and NIH Nominees by Jan 28
The nominees to lead our nation's most important health agencies in the Trump administration include two individuals who oppose vaccinations and support nationwide spread of infectious disease such as COVID-19. These dangerous nominees are Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to be secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD to be director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Kennedy's Senate hearings begin Wednesday Morning, January 29 and Battacharya's will be next month. We must oppose these nominations for the health of the American public and future of health sciences research. There is bipartisan opposition to these nominations.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has been a source of deceptive claims on many public health issues. He created an anti-vaccine organization that intentionally spreads false and unscientific information which has clearly led to deaths. He petitioned FDA in May 2021 to stop COVID vaccinations, but has promoted ineffective treatments for COVID such as ivermectin. He has even proposed having NIH “take ‘a break’ from studying infectious diseases.”
An attorney, Kennedy has intentionally hidden that he earns millions from his work in the anti-vaccination campaigns. His plan to continue earning from ongoing litigation poses a big conflict of interest.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, a health economist with a medical degree, endorsed and promoted mass COVID-19 infections that would have led to more illness, Long COVID, and death across the US. Recent videos from 2024 show him voicing support of ineffective treatments for COVID-19 such as ivermectin, opposing layered protections against COVID-19, and belittling the value of masking.
If they are selected as leaders of HHS and NIH, who minimize the seriousness of COVID-19, this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will potentially worsen. More people will get sick, develop Long COVID, or die from COVID-19. The development of therapeutics for COVID-19 and Long COVID may potentially be hampered.
You can submit a letter to your members of Congress both the House and the Senate via our Action Network or contact members Congress using their contact information, keeping our letter in full or editing it as you wish.
Please personalize your letter. Letters to elected officials are most effective when they start with a brief personal comment (a sentence or two) about why and how these individuals could impact you, your loved ones, and/or your community.
In particular, for those residing in Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, or Wyoming, your senator, a member of the Committee on Finance has the largest role with a deciding vote in this nomination process.
Letter Template
Dear Senator,
As a resident of your state, I ask you to oppose the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Jay Bhattacharya for Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Below are my concerns with the nomination of these individuals to lead these two important health agencies. This is a bipartisan issue.
Mr. Kennedy lacks the experience and understanding required to lead America’s public health department. He does not understand the importance of developing and implementing policy that affects the health of millions of Americans nor does he have the expertise needed to oversee various agencies under HHS, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Health Resources Services Administration, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and more. He intentionally deceives the public on important health information by developing and promoting conspiracies about vaccines, opposing the importance of fluoride in drinking water, and endorsing ineffective medicine for COVID-19. With numerous financial conflicts of interest that totals millions of dollars, he has had a significant role in undermining public health, which saves millions of lives.
Dr. Bhattacharya lacks the collaborative talents for success at NIH and has opposed evidence-based science both of which are critical for the mission of NIH. He does not prioritize the importance of understanding, addressing, or developing methods for the prevention and treatment of diseases, which are central to NIH’s mission. Instead, he has promoted the mass disabling of the public and had a major role in deception by disseminating false health information to the public. If confirmed, he will dismantle years of research and public health initiatives supported by NIH.
President Trump, who initiated Operation Warp Speed that led to the development of COVID-19 vaccines, is nominating two individuals who have spread false information about vaccines and they would undermine scientific progress in COVID-19 and other life-threatening infectious and chronic diseases.
I respectfully ask you to oppose these nominations for HHS and NIH. Our nation needs leaders who have dedicated their lives to preserving public health and not destroying it. We need individuals who will advance science and medicine with evidence-based approaches to public health sciences. Ultimately, we need leaders who will not deceive the American people and not waste public tax dollars in ineffective treatments for their personal financial gain.
Thank you for your time and consideration regarding this important matter.