Former Rep. Joseph Kennedy III says some of his uncle's moves as head of HHS are 'heartbreaking'
ATTLEBORO — The heated national political climate of the past several years has frayed relations in many American families, including the famed Kennedy clan.
Family members have gone public with their disagreements with Robert Kennedy Jr., the man President Donald Trump has chosen to lead the massive U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Count former U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III among them.
Joseph Kennedy said he doesn’t talk politics with his uncle and finds some of his moves at HHS “heartbreaking.”
In a brief interview in Attleboro this past weekend, Joseph Kennedy said he has several objections to the way his uncle is running the agency, particularly the decision to lay off 10,000 employees.”
He said Democrats could “find common ground” with the HHS secretary on issues such as healthier nutrition, but strongly disagree with other things that are happening.
The moves Joseph Kennedy disagrees with include large-scale layoffs of personnel, cutting funding for medical research and the gutting of a program called LIHEAP, which helped the poor and elderly pay for heating fuel.
He said every single worker in the fuel assistance program has been let go, leaving no one to distribute the funding.
Heating assistance is particularly significant to the Kennedy family, as years ago Joseph Kennedy’s father started a non-profit called Citizen’s Energy, which also provided heating oil.
Joseph Kennedy now runs the program, which has transitioned to providing solar power to the poor instead of oil.
Another program the secretary of HHS is cutting back on is Head Start, which provides preschool to the needy.
The intra-family political clashes started long before Robert Kennedy Jr. became HHS secretary for Trump, a Republican.
Before Robert Kennedy Jr. endorsed Trump, he was running as an independent for president, emphasizing his opposition to vaccines.
At that time, a dozen relatives, all Democrats, endorsed President Joe Biden for re-election.
Some even wrote essays opposing Robert Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to HHS.
As for Joseph Kennedy III, the former congressman attended a political event in Attleboro Saturday, sparking speculation he might be interested in running for office again.
He was even half-jokingly introduced as “the future president of the United States.”
But, he said later, he doesn’t see any set of circumstances that could get him to run at this time.
He said he has two young children, ages 7 and 9, and needs to be at home with them.
Despite swearing off elective politics for now, Kennedy stays busy in policy matters.
He founded an organization called Ground Work, which teaches political organizing skills in mostly red states. He also served as Biden’s special envoy for Northern Ireland.
When in Congress, Kennedy served a district that stretched from Newton to Fall River and included much of the Attleboro area.
ATTLEBORO — The heated national political climate of the past several years has frayed relations in many American families, including the famed Kennedy clan.
Family members have gone public with their disagreements with Robert Kennedy Jr., the man President Donald Trump has chosen to lead the massive U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Count former U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III among them.
Joseph Kennedy said he doesn’t talk politics with his uncle and finds some of his moves at HHS “heartbreaking.”
In a brief interview in Attleboro this past weekend, Joseph Kennedy said he has several objections to the way his uncle is running the agency, particularly the decision to lay off 10,000 employees.”
He said Democrats could “find common ground” with the HHS secretary on issues such as healthier nutrition, but strongly disagree with other things that are happening.
The moves Joseph Kennedy disagrees with include large-scale layoffs of personnel, cutting funding for medical research and the gutting of a program called LIHEAP, which helped the poor and elderly pay for heating fuel.
He said every single worker in the fuel assistance program has been let go, leaving no one to distribute the funding.
Heating assistance is particularly significant to the Kennedy family, as years ago Joseph Kennedy’s father started a non-profit called Citizen’s Energy, which also provided heating oil.
Joseph Kennedy now runs the program, which has transitioned to providing solar power to the poor instead of oil.
Another program the secretary of HHS is cutting back on is Head Start, which provides preschool to the needy.
The intra-family political clashes started long before Robert Kennedy Jr. became HHS secretary for Trump, a Republican.
Before Robert Kennedy Jr. endorsed Trump, he was running as an independent for president, emphasizing his opposition to vaccines.
At that time, a dozen relatives, all Democrats, endorsed President Joe Biden for re-election.
Some even wrote essays opposing Robert Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to HHS.
As for Joseph Kennedy III, the former congressman attended a political event in Attleboro Saturday, sparking speculation he might be interested in running for office again.
He was even half-jokingly introduced as “the future president of the United States.”
But, he said later, he doesn’t see any set of circumstances that could get him to run at this time.
He said he has two young children, ages 7 and 9, and needs to be at home with them.
Despite swearing off elective politics for now, Kennedy stays busy in policy matters.
He founded an organization called Ground Work, which teaches political organizing skills in mostly red states. He also served as Biden’s special envoy for Northern Ireland.
When in Congress, Kennedy served a district that stretched from Newton to Fall River and included much of the Attleboro area.
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