Washington — Caroline Kennedy, the cousin of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., sent a blistering letter to senators on Tuesday — a day before his confirmation hearings — that described him as a “predator” whose actions “have cost lives.”
In the letter to committee leaders, the former ambassador to Australia urged senators to reject his nomination as health and human services secretary, alleging that he “preys on the desperation of parents and sick children,” as well as his own family members.
“It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because he himself is a predator,” the two-page letter said. “His basement, his garage, and his dorm room were the centers of the action where drugs were available, and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks. It was often a perverse scene of despair and violence.”
Family members who followed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. down the path of substance abuse, Caroline Kennedy wrote, “suffered addiction, illness and death, while Bobby has gone on to misrepresent, lie, and cheat his way through life.”
She also said that while her cousin has discouraged parents from vaccinating their children, he has vaccinated his own.
“Even before he fills this job, his constant denigration of our health care system and the conspiratorial half-truths he has told about vaccines, including in connection with Samoa’s deadly 2019 measles outbreak, have cost lives,” Caroline Kennedy wrote.
She also read her letter to the senators in a social media post on X.
His “crusade against vaccination” serves to enrich him financially, she said. His financial disclosures showed RFK Jr. still intends to receive legal fees from Wisner Baum, a firm suing the maker of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil over its alleged failure to warn consumers about its risks.
“In other words,” she said, “he is willing to enrich himself by denying access to a vaccine that can prevent almost all forms of cervical cancer and which has been safely administered to millions of boys and girls.” She went on to say that while she was ambassador to Australia, she learned it was one of the top three cancers afflicting women in a majority of countries.
Caroline Kennedy also excoriated RFK Jr. over his presidential campaign: “It also wasn’t easy to remain silent last year when Bobby expropriated my father’s image and distorted President Kennedy’s legacy to advance his own failed presidential campaign — and then groveled to Donald Trump for a job. Bobby continues to grandstand off my father’s assassination, and that of his own father. It is incomprehensible that someone who is willing to exploit their own painful family tragedies for publicity would be in charge of American life-and-death situations.”
Her cousin, she said, is “addicted to attention and power.”
Mr. Trump’s controversial pick is set to appear Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Finance, which will decide whether to advance his nomination. On Thursday, he is scheduled to testify before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces opposition from both sides of the aisle. Conservatives groups have expressed concern about his past statements in support of abortion rights, though he has reassured them that he would follow Mr. Trump’s promise to defer the issue to states. Democrats and vaccine experts have condemned him for spreading misleading claims on a range of vaccines, including the COVID-19 and polio shots.
contributed to this report.
