Lesley: RFK Jr. nomination poses grave concerns for child health

First Focus on Children expresses grave concern over the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Kennedy’s well-documented positions on key public health issues, including his opposition to vaccines and water fluoridation, raise significant red flags, particularly concerning the health and safety of children.

Vaccines are one of the greatest public health achievements of modern history, safeguarding millions of children from diseases like measles, polio, rubella, and whooping cough. Kennedy’s rhetoric on vaccines undermines trust in this essential intervention, putting vulnerable populations, including children with compromised immune systems, at serious risk. Similarly, his criticism of water fluoridation threatens a proven strategy for reducing dental decay, a condition that affects a child’s overall general health and that disproportionately affects children in low-income communities.

While these positions alone warrant enormous concern, the stakes are even higher given the broad array of programs under HHS that profoundly impact children’s lives. Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide health coverage for nearly 40 million children, offering access to essential care ranging from cancer treatments to vaccinations to mental health services. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides coverage to a couple million children, but also ensures protections for children with preexisting conditions.

Programs like Head Start, Early Head Start, and child care subsidies also fall under HHS and play a pivotal role in early childhood education and development, while services aimed at addressing child abuse, neglect, and homelessness provide for the development, safety, and support of some of the most vulnerable children in our society. A true commitment to children requires prioritizing and not undermining these programs. The Secretary of HHS should uphold the fundamental right of every child to health, education, development, safety, and well-being.

Unfortunately, Kennedy’s public record offers little indication of his positions on these vital issues. His advocacy, focused almost exclusively on contentious and scientifically unsound debates on vaccines and water fluoridation, raises questions about his ability to lead an agency with such a critical and comprehensive portfolio of issues of importance to children and families.

We call on the Senate to conduct a rigorous and transparent vetting process to fully explore Kennedy’s qualifications, policy priorities, and commitment to advancing the well-being of children. Our nation’s children deserve a leader at HHS who will champion their needs and protect the programs that are essential to their well-being and future.

To further the health and safety of America’s children, any HHS secretary should support policies that expand, not restrict, health care access for vulnerable children. Such a secretary must champion vaccines as life-saving tools, not fuel misinformation that causes deadly outbreaks. Furthermore, such a secretary must support cutting child poverty and improving access to and the quality of early childhood and child care programs. There must be no compromise on policies that impact the health, education, development, safety, and well-being of children.

The stakes are too high to risk leadership that does not place children at the forefront of agency priorities. Therefore, we urge lawmakers to ensure that the next secretary of HHS is fully prepared to uphold the agency’s mission and work tirelessly on behalf of improving the lives of our nation’s children and their future.

Editor’s Note: The above guest column was penned by Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus on Children. The column appears in the Rio Grande Guardian with the permission of the author. Lesley can be reached by email via: michelek@firstfocus.org

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