The nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) has ignited a firestorm of controversy. Democrats claim to be concerned with Kennedy's experience and judgment, particularly with regard to his history of questioning vaccine safety and advocating for further research into vaccines. They label him as a dangerous voice in public health and claim that his views could undermine the very fabric of vaccine confidence in America.
Ironically, however, this backlash sharply contrasts with the Democrats’ history of confirming inexperienced and dangerous nominees to the HHS department.
I’m just going to talk about two: Xavier Becerra and Richard "Rachel" Levine — nominations that, by all accounts, exhibited glaring inadequacies.
Take Becerra, for example. Despite lacking meaningful healthcare experience or a medical background, Democrats rallied behind his nomination, confirming him as HHS secretary without hesitation. Becerra, a lawyer with a political resume, was chosen more for his advocacy of healthcare policies like Obamacare than for any expertise in health administration.
It was early 2021, and we were still in the middle of the COVID pandemic. Call me crazy, but that was hardly the time for a political appointment to the Health and Human Services department, don’t you think? Critics argued at the time that Becerra’s nomination reflected a blatant political move rather than a commitment to effective health leadership.
The irony is striking: every single Democratic senator voted in favor of Becerra, save for Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who didn’t vote. But hey, he was the first Latino HHS secretary; I guess we were just supposed to ignore his lack of qualifications to lead the department.
Perhaps the even more troubling example was the nomination of Levine, whom Joe Biden nominated to be assistant secretary of Health. Let’s not pretend that he wasn’t nominated because he identifies as a “transgender woman,” and Biden prioritized diversity hiring in his administration.
But let’s look outside of that for a second at how Levine was under a cloud of scandal when Biden nominated him to serve as assistant secretary of Health. In 2020, Levine faced calls for his resignation over “the horrific results of the [Pennsylvania health] department’s COVID-19 policy” at nursing homes and long-term care facilities. He also removed his mother from such a facility while others could not do so. Had Levine not identified as transgender, there’s no way he’d have been nominated for that position.
Related: WATCH: RFK Jr. Wipes the Floor With Senate Democrats During Confirmation Hearing
Imagine a world where confirming someone to serve in the Department of Health and Human Services isn’t contingent on their grasp of basic biological reality but rather on their unwavering adherence to a political narrative. The same Democrats who have no problem elevating individuals who believe that men can become women — or vice versa — will turn around and declare that merely questioning the efficacy of certain vaccines is a disqualifying offense. This isn’t just hypocrisy; it’s a dangerous prioritization of ideology over scientific integrity.
This glaring double standard underscores a fundamental truth: the Left's true priority isn't the assurance of competent, fact-driven leadership in our health agencies. Instead, they wield these institutions as tools to further their radical political agenda. Their real investment lies in advancing extreme social policies and quashing dissent rather than in promoting genuine medical transparency or rebuilding trust in our health systems.
If Democrats were genuinely dedicated to sound science and the well-being of Americans, they wouldn't so eagerly embrace unscientific gender ideologies while punishing anyone brave enough to question their public health narratives. Their actions reveal their driving motivations: power, control, and the enforcement of their narrative — not the integrity of our health leadership.
