WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2025 — The political temperature in Washington climbed even higher Wednesday as Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) formally introduced articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., accusing him of abandoning scientific consensus and endangering public health in his role overseeing the nation’s medical and regulatory systems.

The move marks the second impeachment effort launched by a Michigan House Democrat in less than a week, following Rep. Shri Thanedar’s (D-MI) dramatic filing of articles against War Secretary Pete Hegseth. With multiple Cabinet officials under fire, Democrats appear to be escalating their institutional challenge to President Donald Trump’s second-term administration — even as many face their own competitive primaries.

Stevens, who had promised in September to pursue impeachment, said she could no longer wait.

“RFK Jr. has turned his back on science and the safety of the American people. Michiganders cannot take another day of his chaos.”
— Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI)

Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic and former independent presidential candidate who later joined Trump’s Cabinet in a stunning political realignment, has been a lightning rod since taking over HHS in June. His tenure has been marked by sweeping regulatory reversals, an overhaul of vaccine approval protocols, and the dismantling of several Biden-era public health initiatives.

The Biden administration, congressional Democrats, and medical organizations such as the AMA have accused him of promoting fringe scientific theories from inside the government.

HHS pushed back sharply Wednesday.
Spokesman Andrew Nixon dismissed the impeachment move as political theater.

“Secretary Kennedy remains focused on improving Americans’ health and lowering costs, not on partisan stunts.”
— Andrew Nixon, HHS spokesman

But behind the scenes, senior officials reportedly expect a wave of Democratic impeachment attempts — symbolic in the GOP-controlled House, but politically explosive heading into 2026.

Why Stevens Is Targeting Kennedy

Stevens’ articles of impeachment center on several themes:

1. Alleged “dereliction of duty” regarding vaccine policy

Kennedy’s longstanding opposition to traditional vaccine science has made him one of the most controversial Cabinet appointments in modern American history — especially after Trump tasked him with “reforming” the FDA’s medical review process.

Stevens accuses him of:

Undermining routine childhood vaccination recommendations

Promoting unverified claims about vaccine injuries

Politicizing FDA advisory boards

Interfering with scientific agencies traditionally insulated from direct political pressure

HHS has denied these criticisms, saying Kennedy is engaged in “restoring transparency.”

2. Disrupting public health messaging

Stevens’ articles allege Kennedy:

Spread misinformation about mRNA technology

Suspended multiple public-facing CDC campaigns on influenza and COVID boosters

Approved a controversial initiative redirecting vaccine education funding toward “natural immunity research” groups

Blocked several CDC scientists’ testimony to Congress

Critics say Kennedy has turned HHS into an ideological battleground. Supporters argue he is challenging “Big Pharma capture.”

3. “Administrative chaos” and staff departures

Stevens cites the exodus of career public health officials — more than 200 departures since July — as evidence of dysfunction and unfitness for office.

The Bigger Picture: A Democratic Impeachment Strategy?

Stevens’ action did not occur in a vacuum.

Just days earlier, fellow Michigan Democrat Rep. Shri Thanedar filed impeachment articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, following a Washington Post investigation alleging Hegseth verbally ordered special operations forces to “kill everybody” aboard an alleged narco-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean — including survivors who no longer posed a threat.

Thanedar accused Hegseth of committing war crimes.

“Pete Hegseth has been using the United States military to extrajudicially assassinate people without evidence of any crime.”
— Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI)

The articles cite military lawyers and retired JAG officers who have called the reported order “unambiguously illegal.”

Hegseth and the Pentagon deny the claim, calling the reporting “fake news,” but bipartisan lawmakers who viewed the classified strike video say the second missile strike against two unarmed survivors was “deeply troubling.”

The back-to-back impeachment filings suggest something unusual:

Democrats — particularly from Michigan — appear to be positioning themselves as institutional opponents to Trump’s most controversial Cabinet members.

This could be:

A moral objection

A strategic election-year posture

A signal to primary voters who demand aggressive checks on Trump

A reflection of the deep unpopularity of Hegseth and Kennedy among Democratic constituencies

Whatever the motive, it marks a dramatic escalation.

Michigan Democrats Are Facing Competitive Primaries

One reason the impeachment push is gaining traction among Michigan Democrats: politics at home.

Both Stevens and Thanedar face:

Redistricting pressures

Progressive challengers accusing them of not fighting Trump hard enough

A national political environment where base mobilization matters

Introducing impeachment articles against high-profile (and polarizing) Trump officials ensures national visibility — a powerful asset in contested primaries.

Republicans have already seized on this.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), asked about the filings, responded flatly:

“They know they can’t beat Trump, so now they’re grandstanding.”

But Democratic strategists say impeachment articles — even if doomed in a Republican-controlled House — serve two purposes:

    Building a formal record of alleged abuses for future Congresses

    Clarifying Democratic values heading into the 2026 midterms

RFK Jr.’s Tenure: A Study in Chaos or Reform?

Kennedy’s defenders argue he is doing exactly what Trump wanted: shattering bureaucratic orthodoxy.

Achievements they tout include:

Reversing the FDA’s 2021 “black box” restrictions on hormone therapy

Fast-tracking clinical trials for alternative cancer treatments

Overhauling NIH grant processes to reduce “political capture”

Initiating a pandemic-response decentralization plan

But critics — especially in the medical community — warn he is:

Dismantling basic vaccine protections

Undermining global disease surveillance

Reviving fringe medical theories

Replacing experts with ideological loyalists

He remains one of the most polarizing Cabinet officials ever appointed.

What Happens Next?

Republicans currently control the House, meaning:

The impeachment articles will not advance to a vote.

Committee hearings are extremely unlikely.

The filings are symbolic but politically potent.

However, the filings do expose deep fractures:

Democrats increasingly see Trump’s Cabinet as reckless.

Republicans accuse Democrats of weaponizing impeachment.

Political rhetoric around immigration, public health, and military accountability is reaching fever pitch heading into the 2026 cycle.

Meanwhile, the White House appears unfazed.

Trump, at a Pennsylvania rally Tuesday night, brushed off criticism while attacking Omar, Somali immigrants, and “weak Democrats who cry impeachment whenever they lose.”

Bottom Line

Rep. Haley Stevens’ impeachment articles against RFK Jr. — following closely on Rep. Thanedar’s impeachment effort against Pete Hegseth — mark a dramatic escalation in Democratic opposition to Trump’s administration. While the filings are destined to stall in the GOP-controlled House, they reflect growing Democratic frustration, internal political pressures, and widespread scientific and legal concerns surrounding Kennedy and Hegseth.

They also serve as a preview of what the next year will look like:
a legislative war fought through symbolic but high-impact moves as Democrats brace for a battle over the future of American governance heading into 2026 and the early shadows of the 2028 presidential race.