The latest on Minnesota's 2025 election

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is one step closer to becoming President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary — and health care providers nationwide are sounding the alarm over his qualifications and skepticism of medicine. 

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee voted 14 to 13 on party lines Tuesday, approving the vaccine doubter and activist lawyer’s nomination and sending it to a Senate floor vote. 

Minnesota Third-District Democratic Rep. Kelly Morrison, who is one of a handful of physicians in Congress, joined Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer to express her concerns and what Kennedy’s confirmation could mean in practice. 

“He has been unwilling and unable to stand up just for basic science, evidence-based medicine and public health,” Morrison said. “He’s earned a lot of money off of sowing doubts and fueling the flames of vaccine skepticism.”

Kennedy has sued drugmakers but said recently he would not collect more fees from the litigation. Trump’s nominee has also made what Morrison called “irresponsible comments” around medications used to treat anxiety and depression, alleging they cause gun violence. He has also sued over a cervical cancer vaccine and expressed interest in limiting access to mifepristone, a medication used for abortion and other reproductive health care. 

“And in the wake of the Dobbs decision, with all of the bans and restrictions we’ve seen across the country, that would be very devastating,” Morrison said. 

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Morrison said she and her constituents would continue to seek common ground with Republicans. Kennedy’s concerns around chronic illness, health care spending, heart disease, gun violence and diet are all worthy conversations, she said, but “we need someone who’s got experience leading a big organization and has at least some knowledge or expertise around medicine and science.” 

Thousands of doctors have joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the sudden removal of public health data from government websites. Morrison, too, is worried about that information gap, and said she was heartened about the legal action. 

“The CDC website, for example, has been a source of fact-based, science-based, important public health information for Americans and health care providers to access. So when people are unable to get the information that they need, both from a provider standpoint and a patient standpoint, that's only going to make Americans less safe and less healthy,” Morrison said. 

The Senate will vote on whether to confirm Kennedy in the coming days. 

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Minnesota Third-District Democratic Rep. Kelly Morrison, who is one of a handful of physicians in Congress, joined Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer to express her concerns and what Kennedy’s confirmation could mean in practice. 


Freshman Democrat, physician Rep. Morrison warns against RFK Jr. nomination

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