A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. does not have the confidence of the Senate or of the American people to faithfully carry out the duties of his office.
S. Res. 217 is a Senate resolution stating that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. no longer has the confidence of the Senate or the American people to faithfully carry out the duties of his office. The resolution is largely a statement of disapproval rather than a regulatory or appropriations measure. Its findings accuse the Secretary of undermining public health, scientific integrity, and statutory obligations through actions involving HHS reorganization, grant terminations, staffing reductions, and changes affecting vaccine policy, minority health, aging and disability programs, and other public health functions.
The resolution recounts a broad range of alleged harms, including cuts to NIH research grants, termination of public health funding to states, elimination or reduction of HHS offices and staff, and interference with vaccine-related advisory and education efforts. It also criticizes the Secretary’s statements and actions on measles, autism, fluoride, and vaccines, and says these actions have eroded trust in federal health agencies and endangered public health. The measure concludes by declaring that the Secretary should not be trusted to carry out the office’s duties.
Because this is a sense-of-the-Senate resolution, it does not itself amend the U.S. Code or create new legal requirements. Its practical effect is political and declaratory: it formally records the Senate’s view that the Secretary’s conduct is inconsistent with statutory duties and congressional intent, especially under the Public Health Service Act, the Older Americans Act, the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Affordable Care Act provisions cited in the findings. The resolution targets HHS, NIH, CDC, FDA, CMS, the Administration for Children and Families, and the Administration for Community Living, as well as states, researchers, older adults, people with disabilities, children, and public health programs that rely on federal funding and staffing.
The bill is strongly negative toward Secretary Kennedy and reflects a highly critical sentiment. Its sponsors frame the Secretary’s actions as unlawful, anti-science, and harmful to public health, and the resolution is written in accusatory language throughout. No committee votes or recorded floor votes are provided in the context, so the available sentiment comes entirely from the bill text itself, which is overwhelmingly condemnatory and intended to signal institutional disapproval.
The main points of contention are the Secretary’s handling of vaccines, scientific research, and HHS restructuring. Supporters of the resolution argue that grant cancellations, staff reductions, and office eliminations violate statutory mandates and harm vulnerable populations, while critics of the Secretary’s approach would likely defend the reorganizations as policy changes or efforts to realign agency priorities. The most contentious substantive issues include vaccine policy and messaging, alleged interference with NIH and CDC research, the elimination of minority health and disability-related offices, and the claimed impact on autism, fluoride, measles response, and maternal and child health programs.