Senator Murray Condemns RFK Jr. Nomination, Urges Senate Republicans to Join Her in Opposition

Murray, a longtime congressional leader on health care, forcefully opposes RFK Jr.'s nomination

Washington, D.C. -Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement in response to President-elect Donald J. Trump announcing his intention to select Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS):

"Donald Trump's selection of a notorious anti-vaxxer to lead HHS could not be more dangerous-this is cause for deep concern for every American. There is no telling how far a fringe conspiracy theorist like RFK Jr. could set back America in terms of public health, reproductive rights, research and innovation, and so much else. The consequences here are not theoretical or superficial-health care access, coverage, research, and public health are life or death issues for people-and the COVID pandemic was an all too recent, all too painful reminder. The last time Donald Trump was President he sent the uninsured rate skyrocketing and did quite possibly irreparable damage to trust in public health-and he has made clear he plans to do much worse in a second term, no matter the consequences. Confirming RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary would be nothing short of a disaster for the health of millions of families. I urge my Senate Republican colleagues to join me in forcefully condemning and opposing this catastrophic nomination."

Senator Murray is also a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. As a longtime appropriator and member of the Senate HELP Committee, Murray has long fought to boost biomedical research, strengthen public health infrastructure, and make health care more affordable and accessible. Over her years as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, she has secured billions of dollars in increases for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health, and during her time as Chair of the HELP Committee she established the new ARPA-H research agency as part of her PREVENT Pandemics Act to advance some of the most cutting-edge research in the field. As Chair of the HELP Committee, Murray was also instrumental in crafting the American Rescue Plan including its landmark investments in public health and health care. Senator Murray was also the lead Democratic negotiator of the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, which delivered a major federal investment to boost NIH research, among many other investments. Murray is also the lead sponsor of the Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act (PHISLA), legislation to establish $4.5 billion in dedicated, annual funding for a grant program to build up and maintain the nation's public health system across the board.

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