Share and Follow

Key Points
  • Caroline Kennedy has urged the US Senate to reject her cousin Robert F Kennedy Jr’s health secretary nomination.
  • Caroline has labelled her cousin a ‘predator’ who is addicted to power.
  • She says his views on vaccines are disqualifying.
Calling Robert F Kennedy Jr a “predator” who is addicted to power, Caroline Kennedy has urged the US Senate in a letter to reject the nomination of her cousin to be President Donald Trump’s health secretary.
In a letter on Tuesday to senators, Kennedy — who previously served as a US ambassador to Australia and Japan and is the daughter of former US president John F Kennedy — etched a damning sketch of her cousin, the latest condemnation Kennedy Jr has received from members of his own, prominent Democratic family.
Several denounced her cousin’s in 2024. The letter, obtained by The Associated Press, was first reported by The Washington Post.
Kennedy said in the letter that her cousin’s disqualify him from the role. She offered senators personal details from their lives growing up together that she said pose an even greater concern.
She described her cousin’s basement, garage and dorm as being an epicentre for drug use, where he would also put baby chickens and mice in blenders to feed to his hawks.

“It was often a perverse scene of despair and violence,” she wrote. She also read the letter in a video recording, sharing it on social media. Attempts to reach Kennedy Jr for comment were not immediately successful.

He has openly talked about his heroin use and he pleaded guilty to bringing it on a plane in 1984.
Kennedy Jr now “preys on the desperation of parents of sick children”, she told senators, noting that he has vaccinated his own children while discouraging others from vaccinating theirs.

She also pointed out that Kennedy Jr plans to still profit off a lawsuit against pharmaceutical company Merck over Gardasil, its human papillomavirus vaccine that prevents cervical cancer. In 2024, he made over $US850,000 ($1.4 million) from the arrangement.

A woman in a blazer standing in front of a blue wall

Former US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy says her cousin is a ‘predator’. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

“In other words, he is willing to enrich himself by denying access to a vaccine that can prevent almost all forms of cervical cancer and which has been safely administered to millions of boys and girls,” she wrote. She had previously not spoken about his candidacy or nomination for health secretary.

Her father was assassinated in 1963 when she was a young girl. Kennedy Jr’s father was assassinated in 1968 during his presidential campaign event.

“Unlike Bobby, I try not to speak for my father — but I am certain that he and my uncle Bobby, who gave their lives in public services, and my uncle Teddy, who devoted his Senate career to improving health care, would be disgusted,” Kennedy wrote.

US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy talks to SBS image
Kennedy Jr will appear before the Senate finance committee on Wednesday in his bid to become Trump’s health secretary.

Another hearing for his nomination will be held on Wednesday in front of the Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pension — the committee his uncle, Ted Kennedy, once chaired.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like

Andrew Hastie Dismisses Resignation Rumors Amid Leadership Speculation

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has defended his decision to quit the party’s…
Manly Vale crash

Pedestrian Suffers Serious Injuries After Collision with Food Delivery Driver

The actions of a food delivery driver are tonight under investigation after…
Balin Miller sits atop Mount Hunter on May 14, 2025 after summiting via the French Connection route solo.

American Climber Tragically Falls to Death from Yosemite’s El Capitan

A popular Alaskan climber has fallen to his death from Yosemite National…
At the AFR Asia Summit Andrew Hastie, Shadow Minister for Defence, talks at the summit in Melbourne

Leading Politicians Respond to Andrew Hastie’s Departure from Liberal Front Bench

Sussan Ley’s leadership of the Liberal Party has been rocked by Andrew…
FILE - President Donald Trump listens during a news conference with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Reasons Experts Doubt Donald Trump Will Be Awarded a Nobel Prize

US President Donald Trump’s bid to win the Nobel Peace Prize has…
Cloudi Saliba US ESTA story

A Surprise Email Spoiled a Perth Couple’s $3,000 Hawaiian Vacation

Exclusive: Cloudi Saliba had her bags packed, passport ready and was about…
Hamas agrees to release hostages after 'accepting' parts of peace plan

Hamas Agrees to Release Hostages Following Partial Acceptance of Peace Proposal

Hamas says it has accepted some elements of US President Donald Trump’s…
He was previously a laughing stock when coaching the Wests Tigers - here's why the Broncos are blessed to have Michael Maguire at the helm

From Laughing Stock to Leading Star: Why Michael Maguire is a Blessing for the Broncos

<!– <!– <!– <!– <!– <!– Broncos assistant coach Matt Ballin has…