Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now facing a formal push to remove him from office, after a Michigan Democrat running for Senate filed articles of impeachment accusing him of gutting the country’s public health defenses.
Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan on Wednesday introduced an impeachment resolution charging RFK. Jr with what she calls an “assault on the public health system” that she says rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors. The move targets President Donald Trump’s controversial health chief, a longtime vaccine skeptic who has spent his tenure firing advisers, scrapping research programs, and upending long standing federal health policy.
According to reporting on the articles, Stevens alleges that Kennedy has endangered public health and gutted lifesaving medical research by restricting access to vaccines, canceling grants, and sidelining scientific staff inside HHS. She argues that those steps amount to a betrayal of his oath to protect the health of Americans, not dismantle the system meant to keep them safe.
Stevens, who is seeking a Senate seat in 2026, told the New York Times she does not see the impeachment push as a stunt. “I am not one for political theater,” she said. “I am for standing up for the health and safety of the people I represent. It’s pretty clear that these are life-and-death issues for folks.”
In a separate call with Michigan reporters, Stevens made her case, pointing directly at Kennedy’s public statements on medicine and vaccines. “We’ve watched him ignore the science and make outlandish claims about Tylenol, vaccines and autism,” she said. She reportedly described Kennedy as “the biggest self-created threat to our health and medical system.”
Before joining Trump’s cabinet, Kennedy had already torn up portions of the infrastructure that underpinned federal health policy. Since taking office, he has fired the government’s main vaccine advisory panel, cut research budgets, removed public input from some rulemaking, and promoted debunked claims about vaccine safety and even water fluoridation.
Those moves have drawn unusually strong pushback from the medical establishment. Six former U.S. surgeons general warned in a letter that Kennedy’s agenda is harming national public health by sidelining science and damaging morale within health agencies.
Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for HHS, said Kennedy “remains focused on improving Americans’ health and lowering costs, not on partisan theatrics designed to elevate standing in a failing, third-rate Senate bid.” Another statement from the department called the effort a partisan move with no merit.
For all the heat, the odds of Kennedy actually being removed from office are slim. Republicans control the House, and even senior Democrats have shown little appetite for a full impeachment battle over HHS. Reporting on Stevens’ effort notes that it is unlikely to advance beyond the committee stage, let alone reach a Senate trial.
Kennedy was already a controversial figure before joining Trump’s administration. He is dealing with damning poll numbers with most Americans losing trust in him for healthcare. Most Americans want vaccines to be available to those who want them. Despite his poll numbers being in the gutter, when you look at red versus blue, he remains highly favorable with Republicans while almost 90 percent of Democrats disapprove of his agenda.
