The Kennedy family name has long been synonymous with unity and influence in American politics. But this week, a public feud erupted within the storied dynasty, casting a harsh spotlight on the nation’s ongoing turmoil over vaccine policy and the direction of federal health leadership. At the center of the storm is Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose recent Senate testimony has triggered condemnation from family, political rivals, and former government officials alike, while also drawing a strong defense from President Donald Trump and the White House.
On September 4, 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—once a prominent environmental lawyer and now the controversial head of the Department of Health and Human Services—appeared before the Senate Finance Committee. The hearing, which focused on President Trump’s 2026 health care agenda, quickly devolved into a heated debate over vaccine policy, agency shake-ups, and the future of America’s public health system. According to Reuters, the hearing followed a week of fast-moving changes at the Department of Health and Human Services, with the recent ousting of CDC Director Susan Monarez making headlines and raising questions about the department’s stability.
RFK Jr.’s testimony did little to quell concerns. Senators from both parties pressed him on his handling of vaccine approvals and the personnel changes at the CDC. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., accused Kennedy of firing CDC scientists and replacing them with "cranks" and "conspiracy theorists" who were "endangering children, leaving parents confused and scared." The scrutiny was not limited to Democrats. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., pointedly remarked, "I support vaccines. I’m a doctor. Vaccines work. Secretary Kennedy, in your confirmation hearings, you promised to uphold the highest standards for vaccines. Since then, I've grown deeply concerned." Barrasso cited the largest measles outbreak in the U.S. since 2000, noting 1,431 confirmed cases so far in 2025, a dramatic jump from the previous year’s 285 cases, according to CDC data reported by Reuters.
The fallout from the hearing was immediate and intense. On September 5, Joe Kennedy III—RFK Jr.’s cousin and a former Massachusetts congressman—issued a blistering public rebuke on social media. In a post viewed more than 1.2 million times, Joe Kennedy declared, "None of us will be spared the pain he is inflicting… Those values are not present in the Secretary’s office. He must resign." As Fox News reported, this was not the first time the Kennedy family had aired its divisions over RFK Jr.’s political trajectory. In 2024, five of his siblings issued a joint statement condemning his endorsement of Trump as "a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear." Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. Ambassador to Australia and another cousin, wrote to senators in January 2025 urging them to block RFK Jr.’s cabinet nomination, describing him as “addicted to attention and power” and “unqualified” to lead HHS.
The family drama played out in real time during the hearing, with Jack Schlossberg, President John F. Kennedy’s grandson, mocking RFK Jr. on social media: "RFK LOSER is choking so badly LIVE." The Kennedy dynasty, once a symbol of Democratic unity, now finds itself publicly fractured—its internal disputes mirroring the broader national divide over vaccines and government trust.
Political backlash extended beyond the Kennedy clan. On September 5, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., held a news conference demanding Kennedy’s resignation and unveiling a tracker of what he called the health secretary’s “dangerous actions.” Markey warned, "Misinformation spreads as fast as COVID, as fast as measles and other diseases, and these diseases know no state boundaries. People in Massachusetts are endangered if people in other states aren't getting their vaccinations. We have a highly mobile nation." Standing alongside him was former CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who accused HHS leadership of “incrementally chiseling away at our previously trusted systems, leaving behind a shaky, fragmented vaccine facade that is increasingly obscure and untenable and that has already limited vaccine access.”
States are now scrambling to respond to the federal shake-up. New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order allowing pharmacists to prescribe and administer COVID-19 vaccines, declaring a disaster in the state "Due to Federal Actions Related to Vaccine Access" for the next 30 days. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey issued a bulletin requiring insurers to cover state-recommended vaccines, and announced plans to collaborate with other Northeastern states on public health policy. Meanwhile, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington have announced plans to align their vaccination recommendations. In stark contrast, Florida’s Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo has called for an end to all vaccine mandates, likening them to “slavery.”
The controversy has even drawn in former Trump administration officials. On September 6, Jerome Adams, who served as U.S. Surgeon General under President Trump, told CNN, “I absolutely believe that he [RFK Jr.] should [be fired] for the sake of the nation and the sake of his legacy.” Adams warned, “I absolutely believe he is uniquely damaging the credibility of federal agencies like the CDC, [National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration] and he’s putting us at risk.” He also expressed surprise at Trump’s continued support, saying, “I’m just flabbergasted, to be honest, that he seems to have President Trump in a thrall.”
Yet, despite the mounting criticism, the White House and President Trump have stood by Kennedy. When asked about the hearing, Trump said he had not watched it but called RFK Jr. “a very good person” with “some little different ideas.” The president added, “I guarantee a lot of the people at this table like RFK Jr., and I do, but he's got a different take, and we want to listen to all of those takes.” The White House issued a statement emphasizing that the hearing “showed exactly why President Trump put Secretary Kennedy in charge of HHS: to fix this broken system that has overseen America’s unprecedented chronic disease crisis.”
RFK Jr. himself has defended his actions, telling senators that the changes at CDC were “absolutely necessary adjustments to restore the agency to its role as the world’s gold standard public health agency.” When pressed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren about the FDA’s decision to limit updated COVID-19 vaccines to certain groups, Kennedy responded, “I’m not going to recommend a product for which there’s no clinical data for that indication. Is that what I should be doing?”
As the dust settles from this week’s explosive hearings, the nation finds itself at a crossroads. The Kennedy family feud has become a microcosm of America’s larger debate over science, trust, and leadership in public health. With states forging their own paths, federal agencies in flux, and political divisions deepening, the question now is whether unity—or further discord—will define the next chapter of American health policy.
