The Kennedy Dynasty Divided: A Family at War Over Public Health

In an unprecedented family feud playing out on the national stage, Joe Kennedy III has publicly denounced his cousin, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calling him “a threat to the health and wellbeing of every American.” This extraordinary rebuke came just one day after RFK Jr.’s contentious Senate hearing, laying bare the deep fractures within one of America’s most storied political dynasties. Joe Kennedy’s statement, which has garnered over 1.2 million views, pulls back the curtain on a family once synonymous with Democratic unity but now deeply divided over RFK Jr.’s embrace of President Donald Trump and his controversial “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. The demand for his cousin’s resignation represents a dramatic escalation in a conflict that has been simmering for years but has now erupted into public view.

The Kennedy family schism reached a critical point in 2024 when five of RFK Jr.’s siblings issued a joint statement condemning his endorsement of Trump as “a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story.” The family opposition intensified when Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, urged senators to block her cousin’s cabinet nomination. In a scathing January 2025 letter, she described him as a “predator” who was “addicted to attention and power” and “unqualified” to lead HHS. These public denunciations from within the Kennedy family mark an extraordinary break with the dynasty’s traditional public solidarity, suggesting that for many Kennedys, RFK Jr.’s positions on public health represent a line they refuse to cross.

The latest chapter in this family drama unfolded during RFK Jr.’s appearance before the Senate Finance Committee on September 4. The hearing quickly became contentious, with Senator Ron Wyden accusing the HHS Secretary of firing CDC scientists and replacing them with “cranks” and “conspiracy theorists” who were “endangering children, leaving parents confused and scared.” Rather than rallying to defend their family member facing tough questioning, Kennedy relatives instead amplified the criticism. Joe Kennedy’s post declared that “None of us will be spared the pain he is inflicting… Those values are not present in the Secretary’s office. He must resign.” Meanwhile, Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s grandson, mocked his uncle’s testimony in real-time, posting that “RFK LOSER is choking so badly LIVE.”

At the heart of this family conflict lies a fundamental disagreement about public health policy and scientific authority. RFK Jr. has spent years challenging mainstream medical consensus on vaccines, environmental health, and pharmaceutical regulation. His appointment to lead HHS under the Trump administration has given him unprecedented power to implement policies that many public health experts—and clearly many of his relatives—view as dangerous. The passionate opposition from his family members stems not merely from political disagreement but from a deep conviction that his leadership threatens public health infrastructure that has taken decades to build. For a family whose political legacy includes significant public health initiatives, this represents more than just a policy disagreement—it’s seen as a betrayal of core Kennedy values.

The public nature of this family feud has transformed what might otherwise be private disagreements into a national spectacle. Jack Schlossberg’s real-time commentary during the Senate hearing and Joe Kennedy’s viral post demanding resignation signal that Kennedy family members feel compelled to speak out not just as relatives but as citizens concerned about public health. In doing so, they’re consciously distancing themselves from RFK Jr.’s positions and attempting to preserve what they see as the true Kennedy legacy. This represents a remarkable shift for a family that has historically maintained a united public front despite private disagreements. The willingness of multiple Kennedy family members to publicly denounce RFK Jr. suggests they view the stakes as too high to remain silent.

The unprecedented divide within the Kennedy dynasty reflects broader polarization in American society over issues of science, expertise, and public health authority. What makes this particular family conflict so compelling is that it involves a political family whose name has been synonymous with Democratic politics for generations. RFK Jr.’s alliance with Trump and his challenges to medical orthodoxy have created an unbridgeable gap between himself and most of his relatives. As this drama continues to unfold, it serves as a powerful reminder that even America’s most prominent political families are not immune to the divisive forces reshaping our national discourse around health, science, and political identity. For the Kennedy family, once united in their public service mission, these divisions now play out painfully in the public eye, with no resolution in sight.