A Closer Look at the Surgeons Generals in the op-ed Against Robert F Kennedy
Exploring the histories of those who are calling RFK Jr. a public health threat
Six former U.S. Surgeons General recently co-authored an op-ed for The Washington Post, where they warned that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s policies pose a “profound, immediate and unprecedented threat” to the nation’s health. They wrote that they were “compelled to speak with one voice,” the type of rhetoric that may feel familiar to anyone who remembers how often the phrase “scientific consensus” was invoked during COVID-19. Other outlets amplified the message, echoing the call to reject Kennedy.
However, after years of lockdowns, mandates, and censorship masquerading as consensus, many have learned to treat declarations from health authorities with skepticism. Each of these doctors has a record that raises questions about the system they now defend. Here is a deeper look at their histories.
Antonia Novello
Surgeon General from 1990 to 1993, Dr. Atonia Novello was both the first woman and first Hispanic to hold the post. However, as New York’s Health Commissioner, she used public employees as her personal drivers, plant-waterers, and errand-runners. In 2009 she pleaded guilty to a felony count of filing a false instrument related to that abuse of office.
After serving community service and paying restitution, she re-entered elite hospital leadership roles, including Florida Hospital’s executive director of public health policy. Now, this doctor convicted for exploiting her position is telling Americans who to trust.
Joycelyn Elders
Appointed by Bill Clinton in 1993, Dr. Joycelyn Elders lasted just over a year before being dismissed for suggesting that masturbation should be taught in schools as part of sex education. Her language also betrayed her views on people, such as her comment on the lack of state-funded abortions: “(the government will) pay for you to have another good, healthy slave, but won’t pay for you to use your brain and make good choices for yourself.” Her administrative record was no less controversial.
As Arkansas health director, she oversaw a state condom program later found to be distributing defective condoms with “a failure rate 10 times that which is allowed by the Food and Drug Administration.” Rather than alerting the public, she kept it quiet to ensure that people did not lose trust in condoms. Notably, in the op-ed, the Surgeons General stated that Kennedy “is entitled to his views. But he is not entitled to put people’s health at risk.”
David Satcher
Dr. David Satcher led the CDC from 1993 to 1998 before becoming Surgeon General. Under his CDC leadership, millions of dollars that Congress earmarked for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome research were found to have been diverted to unrelated programs. The report breaking down the “approximately $22.7 million charged to the CFS program” said that only “$9.8 million (43 percent) (was) actually incurred for program purposes.” A whistleblower exposed the misuse, forcing an internal investigation and public apology.
After leaving government, Satcher joined the boards of Johnson & Johnson and MetLife: huge corporations seated in the very sectors he once regulated.
Richard Carmona
Dr. Richard Carmona, George W. Bush’s Surgeon General from 2002 to 2006, told Congress that he was “muzzled” by political appointees on subjects such as stem-cell research, secondhand smoke, and contraception. He was hailed as a truth-teller… Until he joined the very industries he once decried.
Carmona became vice chairman of Canyon Ranch, a luxury wellness resort; a director at Herbalife, the multilevel-marketing nutrition company; and later a board member of McKesson, one of America’s largest pharmaceutical distributors. In 2021, he simultaneously served as Arizona’s COVID-19 “vaccination” adviser and as a McKesson board member — a company that held federal contracts to distribute the same “vaccines” he helped promote.
Jerome Adams
Donald Trump’s Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, became the face of pandemic confusion. On February 29, 2020, Adams tweeted: “Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective.” Weeks later, he reversed course, urging universal masking. He later implied that the original statement was influenced by supply concerns. Readers may decide whether they find that explanation credible.
Federal filings confirm Adams joined the board of Atea Pharmaceuticals, a biotech that was developing an antiviral in partnership with Roche. Public records also show he held financial interests that included that same pharmaceutical company. Now, Adams is part of the group blaming Kennedy for causing “an erosion of trust that will take years to rebuild.”
Vivek Murthy
Before his government role as Surgeons General, Dr. Vivek Murthy co-founded TrialNetworks, a software company helping pharmaceutical firms accelerate clinical trials. He also reported over $2 million in outside income from speaking corporate consulting — including with Netflix and Airbnb.
Murthy issued The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Building a Healthy Information Environment (2021) pressuring social-media companies to censor “false” or “harmful” COVID content. He has since been a party to Murthy v. Missouri, a Supreme Court case alleging that federal officials pressured social-media companies into suppressing lawful speech.
When a regulator builds software for drug trials, takes corporate fees for pandemic advice, and then polices speech that questions drug safety, it raises serious concerns about conflicts of interest.
A Culture of Conflicts and Broken Trust
Every one of these figures warns that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threatens “public trust.” Yet together they appear to embody a culture where public health means managing perception and government roles flow seamlessly into lucrative financial positions.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson, Andrew Nixon, responded to the op-ed with his own message. He stated that the same officials “who presided over the decline in America’s public health (…) are now criticizing the first Secretary to confront it head-on.”
So, when legacy media and figureheads of corrupt institutions insist that Kennedy is threatening the nation’s health, it’s important to consider who is speaking.
Sources
(MAIN) The Washington Post — Six surgeons general: It’s our duty to warn the nation about RFK Jr. (2025) (Source: Please do not give the Washington Post money to unblock the paywall)
ABC News — HHS Hits Back at Former Surgeons General Who Criticized Kennedy (2025) (Read Here)
The Official Website of New York State — Commissioner Used Guards to Chauffeur Shopping Sprees (2009) (Read Here)
Antonia Coello Novello, MD. MPH. Dr.PH (View Here)
Los Angeles Times — Elders’ Dogma Renders Her Unfit for Office : A surgeon general needs to build consensus, not attack and smear opponents. (1993) (Read Here)
Washington Post — CDC Misused Funds Intended for Chronic Fatigue Research (1999) (Source: Please do not give the Washington Post money to unblock the paywall)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) — Audit of Costs Charged to the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Read Here)
The Lancet — Playing politics with public health (2007) (Read Here)
Reuters — McKesson begins distribution of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine (Read Here)
Reuters — Trump Administration picks McKesson for coronavirus vaccine distribution (2020) (Read Here)
CNN — The surgeon general wants Americans to stop buying face masks (2020) (Read Here)
Atea Pharmaceuticals — Atea Pharmaceuticals Appoints Jerome Adams, M.D., M.P.H., to Board of Directors (2021) (Read Here)
The Washington Post — Vivek H. Murthy’s financial disclosure form (Read Here)
American Kahani — Will Dr. Vivek Murthy’s Financial Disclosures Hurt his Confirmation as Surgeon General? (Read Here)
HSS — Confronting Health Misinformation (2021) (Read Here)
Supreme Court — Murthy v. Missouri (2023) (Read Here)
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