Caroline Kennedy warns senators of ‘predator’ RFK Jr. in searing letter

Caroline Kennedy on Tuesday warned senators about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calling her cousin – now Trump’s pick to lead HHS – a “predator” whose victims have ranged from family members to the parents of sick children.

In a copy of a letter obtained by The Washington Post and sent to lawmakers ahead of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearings, the former ambassador to Australia alleges that her cousin, “addicted to attention and power,” has given hypocritical advice by discouraging parents from vaccinating their children, while vaccinating his own children. She alleged that his “crusade against vaccination” has also served to enrich him.

“I have known Bobby my whole life; we grew up together,” wrote Kennedy. “It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because he himself is a predator.”

A spokeswoman did not immediately respond for comment.

She goes on to claim that through “the strength of his personality,” other family members followed Kennedy Jr. “down the path of drug addiction.”

“His basement, his garage, his dorm room were the centers of the action where drugs were available, and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in the blender to feed his hawks. It was often a perverse scene of despair and violence.”

She commended Kennedy Jr. for “pulling himself out of illness and disease” but lamented the “siblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness, and death while Bobby has gone on to misrepresent, lie, and cheat his way through life.”

Caroline Kennedy has been reticent to publicly comment on her cousin’s politics, and told senators Tuesday that she only reluctantly is speaking up now.

“I have never wanted to speak publicly about my family members and their challenges,” she wrote.

But at an event last November at the National Press Club in Canberra, the capital of Australia, she dismissed her cousin’s views on vaccines as “dangerous,” and said they were not reflective of the views of “most Americans” and the rest of the Kennedy family.

“I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has the greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views,” Caroline Kennedy said at the time.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is among Trump’s most vulnerable cabinet nominees. Former Vice President Mike Pence and his conservative advocacy group have raised concerns about his past support for abortion. Several Republican senators, including Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), who chairs the Senate’s health committee, have said that he has wrongly questioned the safety of vaccines. Sen Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), a polio survivor, does not appear to have granted a meeting with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., raising questions about whether he will vote to confirm him, and other Republican senators have also not said where they stand on the nomination.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can only lose three Republican votes, if all Democrats vote against him, and still be confirmed. He has two confirmation hearings, one on Wednesday and one on Thursday.

While Caroline Kennedy’s testimonial may not sway Republicans, it could shore up Democrats’ opposition to her cousin’s nomination. Many Democrats have said they will approach Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation with an open mind and are refusing to rule out voting for him, though they have cited deep concerns about his views on vaccines. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) and some other senators have signaled they are open to supporting Trump’s nominees and have agreed with some of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views on the health care industry.

He has spent more than a month meeting with dozens of senators, seeking to sway them, although it is not clear whether those efforts secured additional votes or further antagonized his skeptics.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington), a prominent Kennedy critic, told The Washington Post that it was the most troubling meeting that she has had with a cabinet nominee in her entire career.

Some of Kennedy’s family members spoke out against his presidential campaign and endorsement of Trump, saying that he did not represent their family’s Democratic values, but had been largely silent on his nomination to run the nation’s health department.

Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups, meanwhile, have heavily contested his nomination, warning that the longtime anti-vaccine activist is not fit to oversee agencies responsible for the nation’s vaccine supply; would restrict abortion access; and take other steps to weaken the nation’s public health infrastructure.

Protect Our Care, a Democrat-aligned advocacy group running a “Stop RFK” war room, has commissioned advertisements highlighting Kennedy’s visit to Samoa and meetings with anti-vaccine activists before an outbreak of measles, a vaccine-preventable disease, hit the island nation. 314 Action, another liberal advocacy group, unveiled new ads on Monday that also focus on Kennedy’s rhetoric and Samoa’s outbreak.

Kennedy has maintained that he is not anti-vaccine and has denied any connection with Samoa’s measles outbreak.

Kennedy is also facing pressure from some conservatives who say they do not trust the longtime liberal and scion of a famous Democratic family to pursue the GOP’s priorities.

Advancing American Freedom, a conservative group backed by Pence, has commissioned its own ads featuring video of then-candidate Donald Trump deriding Kennedy last year as “more liberal” than any Democratic candidate for president. Pence and his group have also urged conservative Republicans to scrutinize Kennedy’s stance on abortion in the upcoming hearings.

Trump allies have tried to rally support for Kennedy’s nomination. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative advocacy organization, has touted Kennedy as a would-be reformer who can take on special interests that have harmed Americans’ health.