Hundreds of federal health workers say RFK Jr has put Americans in danger
More than 750 current and former employees of the US health department have published a letter rebuking Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, saying his "dangerous and deceitful statements" contributed to recent violence at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters.
Officials say the man who fired hundreds of rounds at the CDC this month, killing a police officer, had expressed distrust in the Covid-19 vaccine.
In their letter, the staff said the attack came as "politicized rhetoric" drives mistrust in institutions.
They also said Kennedy had put Americans' health in danger and hurt the country's ability to respond to public health emergencies.
"Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is complicit in dismantling America's public health infrastructure and endangering the nation's health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information," they wrote in a letter addressed to both Congress and Kennedy and published on a site called Save HHS.
The signatories were affiliated with the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and Health and Human Services.
In a statement, a spokesperson for HHS said Kennedy was "standing firmly with CDC employees" to ensure their safety and wellbeing.
Source: BBC News, 20 August 2025