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Bill Maher has slammed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr for his recent controversial moves while in charge of the nation’s health, admitting that he has “got to go.”
RFK Jr, a longtime vaccine skeptic, testified before the Senate Finance Committee Thursday. During the fiery, three-hour hearing, Kennedy defended his recent actions including firing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention head Susan Monarez, as well as his stances on vaccines, autism, and Medicaid.
Reacting to Kennedy’s testimony on the latest episode of his Real Time show, Maher said: “I personally find this very disappointing because I am the person who was sympathetic to what [Kennedy] was trying to do.
“I said, ‘Finally, we have a guy in there who cares about this stuff.’ But he’s also just nutty.”
The Senate hearing saw both Democrats and Republicans grill Kennedy over his attempts to restrict public access to vaccines. The HHS chief has long promoted the idea that vaccines are linked to autism, and has criticized the process and mandates for the Covid-19 vaccine.
Bill Maher slammed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on his show admitting he has ‘got to go’ (HBO/Getty)
“He’s just too nutty,” Maher continued. “He just does not listen. I mean, he just is. And nothing ever — I call it pendulumism — nothing ever stops in the middle.”
While the TV host agreed that the CDC was in need of a “housecleaning,” he asked: “But to fire all 17 of the top people? Now you don’t have that voice in there at all. You just have your voice.”
In June, Kennedy removed all 17 sitting members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee. He claimed the move would restore Americans’ trust in the healthcare system and ensure that they receive “the safest vaccines possible.”
Maher confessed that it “pains” him to criticize Kennedy, but concluded: “It’s just — he’s got to go.”
Kennedy, son of late Attorney General Robert F Kennedy, and nephew of late President John F. Kennedy, appeared as a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher in April 2024.
During the interview, Maher challenged Kennedy’s claims that the Covid vaccine killed people. “I’m somebody who did not want the vaccine, and didn’t think I should be made to get it,” Maher insisted. “But it does work.”
As the Trump administration’s health secretary, Kennedy launched the Make America Healthy Again Commission. The initiative seeks to help Americans lose weight and exercise more to reduce chronic diseases.
Last week, over 1,000 current and former staff from Kennedy’s department signed an open letter, accusing him of “compromising the health of the nation,” and demanded he step down.
“Should he decline to resign, we call upon the president and U.S. Congress to appoint a new secretary of health and human services, one whose qualifications and experience ensure that health policy is informed by independent and unbiased peer-reviewed science,” the letter read. “We expect those in leadership to act when the health of Americans is at stake.”