{"id":261217,"date":"2025-06-05T14:00:01","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T18:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&#038;p=261217"},"modified":"2025-06-05T14:00:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T18:00:02","slug":"more-americans-disapprove-than-approve-of-the-job-robert-f-kennedy-jr-is-doing-as-us-health-secretary","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2025\/06\/05\/more-americans-disapprove-than-approve-of-the-job-robert-f-kennedy-jr-is-doing-as-us-health-secretary\/","title":{"rendered":"More Americans disapprove than approve of the job Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is doing as U.S. health secretary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-640-wide\"><img data-dominant-color=\"583d2b\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #583d2b;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg?resize=782,440 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg?resize=960,540 960w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg?resize=1200,675 1200w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg?resize=1280,720 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg?w=640\" alt=\"U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies on Capitol Hill before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions regarding the department's proposed 2026 fiscal year budget on May 20, 2025. (Tasos Katopodis\/Getty Images)\" class=\"wp-image-261225 not-transparent\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies on Capitol Hill before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions regarding the department&#8217;s proposed 2026 fiscal year budget on May 20, 2025. (Tasos Katopodis\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. adults have mixed views of the job that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is doing as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. But their views lean more negative than positive:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-640-wide is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=261223\"><img data-dominant-color=\"ecebe6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_1.png?resize=480,345 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_1.png?resize=782,562 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_1.png?resize=840,604 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"460\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_1.png?w=640\" alt=\"A diverging bar chart showing that Americans tend to view Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s job performance more negatively than positively.\" class=\"wp-image-261223 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #ecebe6; width:420px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>43% say they strongly or somewhat disapprove of how Kennedy is handling his job.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>36% say they strongly or somewhat approve.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>21% aren\u2019t sure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Strong disapproval of Kennedy\u2019s job performance also exceeds strong approval. Three-in-ten Americans strongly disapprove of how Kennedy is handling his job, while 16% strongly approve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-style-plus-icon has-border-color has-ui-gray-light-border-color has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-background has-sans-serif-font-family is-layout-flow wp-container-core-details-is-layout-61b01db2 wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\" style=\"border-width:1px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);font-size:clamp(0.875em, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 0.2em) * 0.009), 0.88em);\"><summary>How we did this<\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As part of a broader survey on health-related topics, Pew Research Center sought to understand how Americans feel about Robert F. Kennedy\u2019s performance as the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We surveyed 5,085 U.S. adults from April 28 to May 4, 2025. Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Interviews were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/the-american-trends-panel\/\">ATP\u2019s methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_questionnaire.pdf\">questions used for this analysis<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_topline.pdf\">topline<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2025\/05\/29\/extreme-weather-2025-methodology\/\">survey methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since being sworn in as health secretary in February, Kennedy has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/layoffs-begin-at-hhs-agencies-responsible-for-research-tracking-disease-and-regulating-food\">cut 10,000 jobs at U.S. health agencies<\/a>, encouraged states to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/07\/health\/rfk-jr-maha-tour.html\">ban fluoride in drinking water<\/a>, and sought to <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Health\/rfk-jr-claims-measles-treated-vitamin-linked-poor\/story?id=119713193\">address a measles outbreak<\/a> in Texas, among other actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Center survey was conducted from April 28 to May 4, after Kennedy took each of those actions. We asked about Kennedy\u2019s performance as part of a broader series of questions about health-related topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"party-differences\">Party differences<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrats and Republicans have different views of Kennedy\u2019s job performance to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Around seven-in-ten Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party (72%) disapprove of the job Kennedy is doing, compared with 14% of Republicans and Republican leaners. Conversely, 66% of Republicans approve of the job he\u2019s doing, compared with just 9% of Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looking at ideology as well as political party, liberal Democrats are the most likely to disapprove of Kennedy\u2019s job performance. More than eight-in-ten (83%) disapprove, compared with 64% of moderate or conservative Democrats. Meanwhile, conservative Republicans are more likely than moderate or liberal Republicans to approve of Kennedy\u2019s job performance (74% vs. 52%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In both parties, people with more moderate ideological views are more likely to say they\u2019re not sure how they feel about Kennedy\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"age-differences-within-each-party\">Age differences within each party<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In each party, attitudes about Kennedy vary by age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-640-wide is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?attachment_id=261224\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f2f2f2\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_2.png?resize=480,375 480w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_2.png?resize=782,611 782w, https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_2.png?resize=840,656 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"500\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_2.png?w=640\" alt=\"A dot plot showing that views of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s job performance vary by age, especially among Republicans.\" class=\"wp-image-261224 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f2f2f2; width:420px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrats ages 50 and older are more likely than those under 50 to disapprove of Kennedy\u2019s performance (79% vs. 67%). By comparison, Republicans ages 50 and older are more likely than their younger GOP counterparts to <em>approve<\/em> of it (71% vs. 60%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Younger adults in both parties are more likely than older adults to say they\u2019re not sure about Kennedy\u2019s job performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Note: Here are the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_questionnaire.pdf\">questions used for this analysis<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_topline.pdf\">topline<\/a> and the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/science\/2025\/05\/29\/extreme-weather-2025-methodology\/\"><em>survey methodology<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Around seven-in-ten Democrats (72%) disapprove of the job Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is doing, compared with 14% of Republicans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":658,"featured_media":261225,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-06-05T18:00:07Z","apple_news_api_id":"de79289b-ca3d-4197-9cad-f8f48cddd70b","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-06-05T18:00:07Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A3nkom8o9QZecrfj0jN3XCw","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"relatedPosts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0},"categories":[106,267],"bylines":[578],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[518],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-261217","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-care","category-medicine-health","bylines-jenn-hatfield","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-science"],"label":"Short Read","post_parent":0,"word_count":572,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2025\/06\/05\/more-americans-disapprove-than-approve-of-the-job-robert-f-kennedy-jr-is-doing-as-us-health-secretary\/","art_direction":{"A2":{"id":261225,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"","chartArt":false},"XL":{"id":261225,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg?w=720&h=405&crop=1","width":720,"height":405,"caption":"","chartArt":false},"A3":{"id":261225,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"caption":"","chartArt":false},"A4":{"id":261225,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"caption":"","chartArt":false},"A1":{"id":261225,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg?w=564&h=317&crop=1","width":564,"height":317,"caption":"","chartArt":false},"social":{"id":261225,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/06\/SR_25.06.05_RFK_feature.jpg?w=1200&h=628&crop=1","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"","chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[],"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"Americans\u2019 views of RFK Jr.\u2019s job as health secretary lean negative","description":"Around seven-in-ten Democrats (72%) disapprove of the job Robert F. 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