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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 944 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 944
Impeaching Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human
Services, for high crimes and misdemeanors.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 10, 2025
Ms. Stevens (for herself and Mr. Swalwell) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Impeaching Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human
Services, for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Resolved, That Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human
Services, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the
following article of impeachment be exhibited to the Senate:
article i: abuse of authority and undermining of the public health
The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives ``shall
have the sole power of impeachment'' and that civil officers of the
United States, including the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
``shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of,
treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors''. In his
conduct as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy
Jr. has abused the powers of his office and failed to faithfully
execute the laws of the United States, in violation of his
constitutional oath and his duty under article II, section 3, of the
Constitution. By doing so, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has imperiled the
health and safety of the American people, eroded public confidence in
the Nation's public health institutions, and stalled decades of
scientific and medical progress.
In his conduct as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F.
Kennedy Jr. has disregarded statutory requirements of his office by
failing to abide by Federal law, including the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18001 et seq.) and title XIX of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), which threatens the
public health and safety of the American people through the diminished
capacity of the Nation's public health institutions as follows:
(1) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. conducted far-reaching, haphazard
reduction in force (hereinafter referred to as ``RIF'')
including during the ongoing lapse of appropriations, which
have diminished public health capacity across the Department of
Health and Human Services (hereinafter referred to as ``DHHS'')
resulting in lawsuits and haphazard reinstatement actions.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely testified to Congress that these
reductions in force did not terminate any ``working
scientists,'' despite overwhelming evidence that key staff
managing programs and leading public health scientists were
included, endangering public health, delaying biomedical
innovations, and inciting confusion among public health
professionals.
(2) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unilaterally ceased public
comment on various types of Federal administrative rules and
orders in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act. Such
elimination runs at odds with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s own
statements to improve public transparency while also reducing
key oversight and consultation avenues used by Congress and
public health officials on significant Federal actions.
(3) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. terminated employees across the
National Institutes of Health (hereinafter referred to as
``NIH''), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(hereinafter referred to as ``CDC''), and the Food and Drug
Administration (hereinafter referred to as ``FDA'') responsible
for meeting statutory requirements with respect to record
keeping and fulfilling requests for public records eligible
under Federal laws, including the Freedom of Information Act.
These terminations diminished oversight and transparency across
the Nation's public health enterprise and are impeding
Congress' ability to conduct effective oversight.
(4) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. celebrated the publication of the
``Make America Healthy Again'' report, which repeatedly cited
false, misleading, or non-existent research and misrepresented
existing scientific findings, seeding confusion among the
public and policymakers and imperiling the health and well-
being of children across the United States. Such false
citations are also in violation of Federal research integrity
standards and the established norms of the scientific
community.
(5) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. baselessly attacked the FDA,
including going so far as to suggest reorganization and closure
of key programs. These attacks erode public trust in a key
regulatory agency designed to protect public health while
reducing capacity to carry out statutory requirements.
(6) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the FDA would
unilaterally approve the use of leucovorin, a chemotherapy drug
approved for cancer treatment, to treat symptoms of autism.
Such a move is in violation of administrative procedures
regarding the approval of novel treatment methods by the FDA,
including insufficient scientific evidence of any such risks or
adverse effects the use of leucovorin poses to children's
health.
(7) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. impaired the Federal response to
the avian influenza outbreak despite overwhelming evidence of a
health crisis in the Nation's poultry stock, which led to the
culling of millions of commercial birds. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
dismissed the scientific and general public concern regarding
the escalating outbreak, repeated inflammatory statements such
as suggesting the virus ``should be allowed to run its
course,'' and failed to uphold the Federal Government's
responsibility of managing the crisis, thus endangering food
security and public health.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has undermined the United States leadership
in medical innovation and endangered the future of public health
through the cancellation of Federal research grants, shuttering
congressionally authorized programs, and withholding funds, which
violated article 1 of the United States Constitution and the ``power of
the purse'' by Congress as follows:
(1) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has cancelled more than 2,600
biomedical research grants at NIH totaling $8.9 billion in
Federal funding loss for the public health research enterprise.
Additionally, over $1.5 billion in NIH grants are currently
frozen, further chilling medical innovation, including life-
saving clinical research.
(2) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shuttered programs and research
grant funding dedicated to improving childhood health
(including cancelling research of childhood cancer), ended NIH
participation in efforts to reduce sudden infant death
syndrome, and reduced capacity to monitor maternal and infant
health.
(3) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shuttered key prevention programs
and funding streams dedicated to addressing mental health and
substance abuse, including the shuttering of the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in violation of
Federal law and ending the specialized support services offered
by the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for LBQTA+ youth,
further compromising the public health of a vulnerable
population.
(4) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withheld Congressionally
authorized funding to carry out the family planning program
under title X of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300
et seq.), threatening closure of 865 service sites and cutting
access for 850,000 patients to essential reproductive and
preventive health services, jeopardizing healthcare access
across the United States.
(5) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. eliminated various clinical
research programs and projects related to prevention and
treatment of sexually transmitted infections, including human
immunodeficiency virus (hereinafter referred to as ``HIV'') and
the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (hereinafter referred to
as ``AIDS''), thus undermining public health, including for
vulnerable populations.
(6) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discontinued the Centers for
Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases, operated by NIH,
jeopardizing public health by deteriorating the scientific
understanding and the ability to prevent, detect, and respond
to future global pandemics.
(7) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cancelled research grants for
vaccines development utilizing mRNA biomedical technologies
despite scientifically studied benefits of such technology,
including the COVID-19 vaccine, imperiling the future of
biomedical innovation for cancer treatment, including for
childhood cancer.
(8) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abolished the Foodborne Diseases
Active Surveillance Network. As a result of this terminated
funding, CDC will only monitor two foodborne illnesses, down
from eight which includes the elimination of campylobacter and
listeria, which killed 72 people in the United States in 2022.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has eroded public trust in the effectiveness
and safety of vaccines through inflammatory, baseless, and misleading
public statements, policies, and other official actions. Such actions
also undermine public trust in the entire United States public health
system and institutions, thus sowing harmful and unnecessary confusion
among the American public regarding trusted sources for public health
information as follows:
(1) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely testified under oath to
Congress that he would not take actions that would ``make it
difficult or discourage people from taking [vaccines]'' and
that he would not undermine the independence of the Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices (hereinafter referred to as
``ACIP''), the premier Federal advisory committee responsible
for immunization policy.
(2) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. circumvented the independence of
the ACIP by firing all 17 members of the ACIP and subsequently
appointing unqualified individuals to the ACIP, many of whom
hold significant conflicts of interest and have publicly
opposed established immunization science. This move represents
a scientific coup d'etat of immunization science and policy
that imperils public health.
(3) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unilaterally fired Susan Monarez,
the Senate-confirmed CDC Director. Prior to her firing, Susan
Monarez was subject to legally dubious managerial pressure by
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other politically appointed staff of
DHHS to resign over her refusal to implement politically-
motivated, scientifically-unfounded policies. Following her
firing, Susan Monarez testified under oath in front of the
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
regarding Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s intention to promote
policies, actions, and rhetoric that undermine public health
and his failures to execute statutory requirements for his
office.
(4) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unilaterally removed the COVID-19
vaccine from the recommended schedule for pregnant women and
children issued by CDC, without the required input from the
ACIP. He then falsely testified before the Subcommittee on
Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives that he eliminated the recommendation for
pregnant women because ``there was no science supporting that
recommendation''. This change created widespread confusion in
vaccine safety, and installed harmful barriers to vaccine
access, including for vulnerable populations.
(5) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed David Geier, a known
vaccine conspiracy theorist with no medical training, to lead a
Federal study into vaccines, with a focus on the scientifically
unsubstantiated theory connecting vaccines to autism, further
politicizing scientific research and undermining public trust
in immunization safety.
(6) Robert F. Kennedy Jr., despite his official capacity as
Secretary of Health and Human Services, has publicly voiced
support for baseless, scientifically unproven theories
regarding immunization safety, including COVID-19 vaccines, and
embraced harmful rhetoric wrongfully connecting immunizations
to behavioral and health conditions, including during an active
measles outbreak.
(7) Robert F. Kennedy Jr., despite his official capacity as
Secretary of Health and Human Services, publicly supported Dr.
Michael Kirk Moore following the dismissal of Federal charges
against the physician despite the significant public health
harm in doing so. Dr. Moore was accused of destroying COVID-19
vaccines, distributing fake vaccination record cards, and
giving children saline shots instead of the vaccine at their
parents' request.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has undermined the public health and safety
of the American people through policies relying on unsubstantiated
evidence and promoting false, misleading, and dangerous rhetoric. These
inflammatory statements and actions contradict established science and
Federal policy and further erode public confidence in the Nation's
health institutions as follows:
(1) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claimed that
acetaminophen usage during pregnancy causes autism, a claim
that is entirely unsubstantiated, eroding public trust in
medical advice.
(2) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made inflammatory and
scientifically unfounded public comments regarding autism,
including referring to the condition as ``a preventable
disease'' and made demeaning comments about autistic
individuals.
(3) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the CDC to end
fluoridation directives in water utilities despite decades of
scientific consensus on the proven benefits of such directives
in preventing tooth decay.
(4) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared without evidence that
cell phones cause cancer and neurological harm to children
despite such claims having been explicitly refuted by the NIH
and other scientific authorities.
(5) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claimed that AIDS is
caused by the use of alkyl nitrites, a class of recreational
drugs colloquially referred to as ``poppers'', despites decades
of research demonstrating the causal relationship between HIV
and AIDS.
(6) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claimed that lifestyle
changes and vitamin supplements can prevent measles, leading to
a documented 39% increase in pediatric Vitamin A poisoning
cases.
In all of this, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has imperiled the health and
safety of the American people, eroded public confidence in the Nation's
public health institutions, and diminished decades of scientific and
medical progress.
Wherefore Robert F. Kennedy Jr., by such conduct, warrants
impeachment and trial, and removal from office.
<all>
Submitted in House
Submitted in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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