In a move that has sent shockwaves through the political and public health worlds alike, U.S. Representative Haley Stevens of Michigan announced on September 25, 2025, her intention to introduce articles of impeachment against U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The announcement, which comes amid mounting controversy over Kennedy’s leadership, marks a dramatic escalation in the ongoing battle over the direction of America’s public health policy.
Stevens, a Democrat from Michigan who is also campaigning for a U.S. Senate seat in 2026, did not mince words in her statement. "RFK Jr. is making our country less safe and making healthcare less affordable and accessible for Michiganders," she declared, as reported by WWJ, The Detroit News, and Fox News. She accused Kennedy of having “contempt for science,” spreading conspiracy theories, and disregarding the extensive research conducted by the nation’s top medical experts. Stevens added, “His complete disregard for the thousands of research hours spent by America’s top doctors and experts is unprecedented, reckless, and dangerous.”
The impeachment effort, according to Stevens, is a response to what she describes as Kennedy’s “ongoing efforts to jeopardize public health, increase the cost of healthcare, and cut critical medical research.” Specifically, her articles of impeachment are set to focus on four primary areas: Kennedy’s alleged abdication of duty by slashing funding for lifesaving research, his restriction of vaccine access and promotion of unproven claims, his alleged dishonesty during Senate confirmation hearings, and his failure to carry out the statutory duties of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in administering the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Stevens outlined a litany of actions she believes warrant impeachment. Among the most serious, according to WWJ and Fox News, are Kennedy’s cuts to research funding for cancer, childhood cancer, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and addiction. She also pointed to his moves to restrict vaccine access, such as canceling research on mRNA vaccines and vaccine hesitancy, closing a network of pandemic prevention centers, and withdrawing federal recommendations for COVID-19 shots for pregnant women and healthy children. Stevens accused Kennedy of hiring David Geier, a known vaccine skeptic who had previously been disciplined by Maryland medical regulators for practicing medicine without a license, to reinvestigate the discredited theory that vaccines cause autism.
“Enough is enough – we need leaders who put science over chaos, facts over lies, and people over politics, which is why I am announcing today that I have begun drafting articles of impeachment against Secretary Kennedy,” Stevens said in a statement cited by multiple outlets.
The timing of Stevens’ announcement is no coincidence. Just days earlier, on September 22, 2025, Kennedy and President Donald Trump appeared together at a White House press conference to unveil a new plan to address autism. The plan, which included promoting the use of the drug leucovorin and discouraging the use of Tylenol (the common brand name for acetaminophen), has been met with widespread skepticism from medical experts. According to The Associated Press and The Detroit News, there is no established link between childhood vaccines or Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism. While some studies have raised the possibility of a connection between acetaminophen and autism, the evidence remains inconclusive, and other research has found no cause for concern, as highlighted by the Yale School of Public Health.
Stevens’ impeachment articles will also address what she describes as Kennedy’s politicization of the FDA, including calling it a “sock puppet agency,” suggesting the elimination of entire FDA departments, and overseeing a staffing shortage that has limited the agency’s ability to fulfill its public duties. She further alleges that Kennedy ended public comment for HHS rulemaking, a move widely opposed by public health advocates and transparency supporters, and fired every member of the CDC’s vaccine expert panel.
Adding fuel to the fire, Kennedy has faced bipartisan criticism for his firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez. The former health official warned senators during a September 17, 2025, hearing that the U.S. public health system is headed to a “very dangerous place” under Kennedy’s leadership, according to The Detroit News. Stevens, for her part, held a press conference on September 10 with Dr. John Prensner, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan, to highlight what they described as threats to pediatric cancer research. "In the past nine months since the Trump administration took office, I’ve seen a weakening in our nation’s commitment to childhood cancer that I never thought was possible," Dr. Prensner said.
Despite the gravity of the allegations, the practical prospects for impeachment appear slim. As The Detroit News and Fox News both point out, the Republican Party holds the majority in the House of Representatives, and impeachment requires a simple majority in the House and a two-thirds vote in the Senate after a trial. Given these political realities, it is unlikely that Stevens’ impeachment effort will succeed. Nevertheless, her actions are seen as an attempt to increase pressure on Kennedy and raise public awareness of what she sees as dangerous trends in American health policy.
For his part, Kennedy has not directly addressed the impeachment threat, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services dismissed Stevens’ plans as political theater. “Secretary Kennedy remains focused on the work of improving Americans’ health and lowering costs, not on partisan political stunts,” HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said in a statement to The Detroit News and Fox News Digital.
Stevens is not alone in her criticism. Other Democrats have also called for Kennedy to step down, particularly in light of his handling of vaccine policy, research funding, and the administration of the nation’s leading health agencies. Her campaign for the Senate is likely to keep the spotlight on these issues in the months ahead.
While the political calculus may not favor impeachment, the debate over Kennedy’s leadership has brought renewed attention to the intersection of science, public health, and politics in America. As the controversy continues to unfold, both supporters and critics of Kennedy are watching closely to see what comes next in this high-stakes battle for the future of U.S. health policy.
For now, the nation waits to see whether Stevens’ bold move will spark broader action—or simply add another chapter to the ongoing partisan clash over America’s health and science priorities.
