Industry Lobbyists Lead 'Public Health' Groups Rallying Against RFK
The largest doctors orgs in America have not taken a position on the Kennedy nomination. Yet small groups tied to the drug industry purport to represent physicians.
The entire medical and public health community opposes Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. That’s at least the impression that activist groups rallying on Capitol Hill gave this week.
The opponents to Kennedy’s nomination circulated letters recently attempting to show the expansive list of healthcare organizations troubled by his views. “Doctors opposing RFK Jr. rally in the lead-up to his confirmation,” blared NPR.
A closer examination of the groups leading the anti-Kennedy campaign shows far more of a typical mix of conflicted interest groups. Here are some examples:
– The National Hispanic Medical Association has denounced Kennedy for "spreading misinformation about vaccines." The organization is funded by a litany of drug industry giants, including Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly & Company, Pfizer, Amgen, Sanofi, Abbott, AstraZeneca, Novo-Nordisk, and the trade group PhRMA.
– The National Consumers League has flooded social media with #StopRFK posts and claims that he is one of the loudest anti-vaccine voices in America. NCL, which has also signed multiple coalition letters against his HHS nomination, is funded by drug and food industry donors. It’s also led by lobbyists. Andrea Larue, a lobbyist for Pfizer, and Jose Borjon, a lobbyist for Roche, sit on NCL’s board of directors.
– The American Academy of Pediatrics is one of the most active anti-Kennedy groups. The AAP staged a protest outside of the Senate and has circulated quotes to friendly media outlets. The organization, as I’ve reported, received a series of earmarked Pfizer funding during the COVID-19 pandemic to lobby for vaccine mandates. Other major donors to AAP include Abbott Nutrition and Mead Johnson, the largest makers of corn syrup-based baby formula.