Dispatches of alarm and hope, on politics and society, democracy and justice. Because silence is not an option. We may read and write alone, but we drive change together.

---

Snapshot: RFK, Jr. Is a Predator

In a scathing letter, Caroline Kennedy describes the danger of confirming her cousin to lead Health and Human Services

Steven Beschloss Jan 29

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at the Capitol to meet with senators. (Photo by Jon Cherry via Getty Images)

Honor. Decency. Compassion. Respect for science and expertise. Respect for human life. We should all expect that the person in charge of our nation’s public health would be the very embodiment of these characteristics.

And then there’s Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Donald Trump’s nominee to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services, who begins Senate confirmation hearings today with the Finance Committee (and continues tomorrow with the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee).

Yesterday Caroline Kennedy, the former ambassador to Australia and Japan and the only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy, felt obliged to send a letter to the senators describing how profoundly unqualified her cousin is for the position.

“I have known Bobby my whole life; we grew up together. It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because Bobby himself is a predator,” Kennedy said, reading aloud her letter’s contents.

She explained that “Bobby is addicted to attention and power” and “preys on the desperation of parents of sick children—vaccinating his own children while building a following by hypocritically discouraging other parents from vaccinating theirs.” She called his views on vaccines “dangerous and willfully misinformed.”

Her scathing letter—a poignant cry for the men and women with the power to reject RFK, Jr. to understand what kind of person he truly is—comes in the wake of a series of reckless acts by the cruel and lawless Trump regime.

These include sweeps by federal law enforcement to grab and deport as many migrants as they can, criminal or not, stoking fear in a growing number of innocent communities across the country. It also includes firing 18 inspectors general responsible for minimizing government abuse, Justice Department prosecutors who worked with prosecutor Jack Smith plus other nonpartisan federal employees—all without proper legal notice or substantive rationale.

On Monday, the Trump administration accelerated the madness, chaos and growing confusion across the government and American society by “temporarily” freezing all “grant, loan and federal assistance programs,” ostensibly to ensure they align with Trump’s agenda. This reckless action—which usurps the spending power of Congress and violates the 1974 Impoundment Control Act that bars a president from denying funds because they disagree with Congress—caused particular fear among vulnerable, low-income Americans who rely on such programs as Medicaid, Meals on Wheels, school lunches, disaster relief, student loans and global foreign aid programs. (Late yesterday a federal judge blocked the freeze until Feb. 3.)

All of these moves illustrate Trump’s vengeful desire to attack perceived enemies, dismantle our government and consolidate his power. They also display his sociopathic indifference to the pain these disruptions cause—or, worse, his sadistic pleasure in inflicting it.

Caroline Kennedy’s description of her cousin’s predation reminds me of the sick impulses we know drive Trump himself. No doubt the similarities are partly why he tapped RFK, Jr.—just as he did the predatory Pete Hegseth—to serve in his cabinet.

Consider this recollection by Caroline about the horrific behavior of her charismatic, self-absorbed cousin:

“I watched his younger brothers and cousins follow him down the path of drug addiction,” she said. “His basement, his garage, his dorm room were always the center of the action where drugs were available and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in a blender to feed to his hawks. It was often a perverse scene of despair and violence,” she said.

While acknowledging her cousin for “pulling himself out of illness and disease,” she unflinchingly described how “siblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness and death while Bobby has gone on to misrepresent, lie and cheat his way through life.”

Is this the kind of person that should be in control of the health and well-being of Americans? It’s hard to believe many Americans think so.

Dangerously, though, most Republican senators think so. There are even indications that some Democrats could vote to confirm him because they are attracted to his ideas about food and healthy living and support rethinking public health strategies and the influence of corporations. That includes Sens. Bernie Sanders and John Fetterman.

Over the next two days, we will see if any Republican senators will refuse to go along with another sociopathic predator that Trump wants leading our country. If they do? A man like this will be in charge of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies that the health of Americans depends on.

I hate to think what would happen if America were faced with another pandemic with the anti-vaxxer, anti-science Kennedy in charge. With Trump back in the White House and Kennedy exacerbating his worst instincts—there’ll be no medical professional in charge to protect us.