RFK Jr. Grilled by Senators Over Controversial AIDS Theories
Trump's HHS nominee was questioned about his dangerous and unfounded assertions regarding public health, including the cause of AIDS.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, was grilled during his confirmation hearings over his controversial and downright dangerous stances regarding public health, including his claims that HIV is not the “sole cause” of AIDS.
Over two days, Kennedy was questioned by Republicans and Democrats alike, with many senators focusing on Kennedy’s skepticism of vaccines.
During the hearings, Kennedy claimed he would support vaccines if shown data proving they are safe.
But when confronted with analyses showing no link between autism and vaccines, Kennedy hedged, appearing to question the validity of the studies.
Another point of contention was a 2021 claim by Kennedy that Black people should not follow the same childhood vaccine schedule that white people follow. NPR noted that Kennedy may be referring to 2014 research from the Mayo Clinic showing African Americans had a more robust immune response to the rubella vaccine.
Kennedy was also grilled on his claims that Wi-Fi and 5G cause cancer, that Lyme disease may have been developed as a military bioweapon, and his seeming unfamiliarity with the role of HHS Secretary in overseeing the country’s two largest government health insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid.
For the LGBTQ community, Kennedy’s most concerning beliefs surround statements questioning whether HIV is the sole cause of AIDS, and that the most common strain of AIDS is different from the most common strain of AIDS in Africa.
According to Managed Healthcare Executive, Kennedy took a “neutral” position on the relationship between HIV and AIDS in a book he authored attacking Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, for allegedly deceiving the public about public health matters, including the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
In The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health, Kennedy states that he believes that HIV is “a cause of AIDS,” but also asserts that HIV infection is not the “sole cause” of AIDS. He presents arguments from Peter Duesberg, a molecular biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who has argued that HIV does not cause AIDS but is a “free rider” common to high-risk populations who suffer immune suppression due to environmental exposures.
The book summarizes Duesberg’s arguments linking AIDS infection to heavy recreational drug use by gay men. The book says experts say AIDS is strongly linked to the use of “poppers” (amyl nitrate) among promiscuous gays.
Ahead of the hearings, the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute wrote a letter to senators urging them to question Kennedy on his past statements about the cause of AIDS.
Carl Schmid, the institute’s executive director, told Metro Weekly that Kennedy’s embrace of the theory that HIV is not the sole cause of AIDS is “dangerous” for those suffering from HIV domestically, as such beliefs could lead to the embrace of policies that cut off treatment and prevention measures.
“I’m not a scientist or a clinician, but I know enough that these antiretroviral drugs out there, that are keeping people alive and healthy, are going after the virus and preventing it from replicating,” Schmid said. “How are you going to treat people if you don’t know what causes AIDS, and how are we going to prevent HIV if we don’t understand what causes HIV?”
Schmid would not predict whether Kennedy would ultimately be confirmed but pledged to work with him and advocate for a science-based approach to tackling HIV infections if he is.
Schmid also expressed concerns that critical programs that combat HIV could be cut in President Trump’s zeal to purge diversity, equity and inclusion from government, since many of those organizations work with communities more at risk of HIV, including gay men and transgender individuals.
“We have to make sure that there are continued programs to help transgender people, to help gay people,” Schmid said. “And we have to makes sure that we are not erased.” He added that he hopes that Trump’s gay appointees, like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent or Ric Grenell, Trump’s envoy for special missions, can convince the president not to try and cut vital programs that benefit LGBTQ people and others living with HIV.
“We want to make sure that people are getting the treatments they need,” he said.
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