DES MOINES — Progressive advocates in Iowa are expressing concerns over President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The advocacy group Progress Iowa’s partnership director Amy Adams has been on the ground in small, rural towns, hearing concerns from residents about Kennedy’s controversial stance on vaccines and his alleged promotion of baseless health claims. They didn’t want to see vaccines discontinued,” Adams reported. “These are individuals who have seen polio in their lifetimes and the impacts of this. And just the concerns with Kennedy specifically and his ties to misinformation and vaccine conspiracy theories.”
Those concerns aside, some progressive Democrats are considering supporting Kennedy for his stance on reducing the heavy corporate influence over the U.S. food supply and his goal of getting more chemicals out of what people consume.
Based on the input Progress Iowa has received from people around the state, Adams argued the clear choice for Iowa’s senators is to reject Kennedy’s nomination. “We’re hearing stories over and over again about people who are cancer survivors, who benefited from research and development, and people who need those around them to be vaccinated so they can be safe and healthy because they are immunocompromised,” Adams explained.
Adams added Iowans also had the opportunity to share their views directly with Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst, one of Iowa’s two senators who will vote on Kennedy’s confirmation.
