‘Enough is enough’: RFK Jr.’s own sister publicly calls for his resignation as health secretary
After a fiery and combative appearance before Senate lawmakers on Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing new pressure from his own family. His sister, Mary Kerry Kennedy, is now urging him to resign, citing his shakeups at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and his controversial push to overhaul federal vaccine mandate policies.
In a statement posted to her social media, Kerry Kennedy highlighted the history of lifesaving vaccines, dating back to the creation of the smallpox vaccine in 1796.
“Since then, countless vaccines have been developed and saved millions of lives. Vaccines work. This is not up for debate,” Kerry Kennedy’s statement read. “Medical decisions belong in the hands of trained and licensed professionals, not incompetent misguided leadership.”
Tensions are set to grow in the coming weeks as a key CDC advisory panel—reshaped by Kennedy to include vaccine skeptics—prepares to issue new recommendations on immunizations.
Kerry Kennedy also praised the medical and scientific leaders who resigned from the CDC in protest after Secretary Kennedy dismissed CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez less than a month into her role. Monarez, according to her attorneys, refused to “rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives.”
“I stand with the many courageous individuals in the medical and scientific communities who have set aside their vital work to speak truth to power to keep the public safe,” Kerry Kennedy said, before concluding her remarks with a sharp demand. “Enough is enough. Secretary Kennedy must resign. Now.”
The internal chaos at the CDC has drawn bipartisan concern, with critics alarmed at Kennedy’s push to implement policies that run counter to decades of medical research.
Two administration officials confirmed that Jim O’Neill, currently second-in-command at HHS, would replace Monarez. O’Neill, who served under President George W. Bush, has a background in investment but no medical training. The officials, who requested anonymity, confirmed the appointment ahead of a public announcement.
The advisory committee Kennedy has reorganized will soon review longstanding childhood vaccines, including those for measles and hepatitis. Despite backlash, Kennedy has not explained Monarez’s removal, but suggested more personnel changes could follow.
“There’s a lot of trouble at the CDC and it’s going to require getting rid of some people over the long term, in order for us to change the institutional culture,” Kennedy said during a Texas news conference.
The White House has only said Monarez was “not aligned with” President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Her lawyers, however, argued she was removed because she refused “to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts.” Monarez is contesting her dismissal, noting that the decision must come directly from Trump, who nominated her earlier this year. The president has not commented publicly.
The shakeup began Wednesday night when the administration announced Monarez’s departure. In protest, three top officials — Dr. Debra Houry, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, and Dr. Daniel Jernigan — resigned from their senior roles.
Daskalakis, who stepped down as head of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, warned, “I fear that children will be hurt by poor decision making around vaccines.” He added: “You cannot dismantle public health and expect it to still work.”
Jernigan resigned as director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, and Houry left her role as CDC deputy director and chief medical officer.
Houry later told the Associated Press that Monarez had fought to protect scientific independence. “We were going to see if she was able to weather the storm. And when she was not, we were done,” she said.
Dr. Richard Besser, a former acting CDC director, said Monarez had resisted orders to dismiss her management team and refused to sign off on recommendations from Kennedy’s chosen vaccine advisers without proper review.
“Dr. Monarez was one of the last lines of defense against this administration’s dangerous agenda,” said Besser, now president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
