Trump eyes exit for embattled Cabinet member

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent moves at the agency have been a public relations nightmare for President Donald Trump — and some Beltway insiders believe the commander-in-chief could soon be ready to cut ties with the embattled Cabinet member, Knewz.com can report.

Cleaning house

CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after less than a month in the role. By:

RFK Jr.’s dismissal of all 17 members of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has already drawn widespread public protest and at least one lawsuit. The panel is responsible for advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines. The HHS chief, 71 — who’s said a doctor told him a parasitic worm got into his brain, “ate a portion of it and then died” — later replaced the fired officials with a smaller panel stocked with fellow skeptics. Simmering tensions later exploded when Kennedy fired CDC Director Susan Monarez after only 29 days on the job. She retaliated with a scorched-earth op-ed accusing the former Democratic Party member of pressuring her to pre-approve the new ACIP’s recommendations ahead of its next meeting. Kennedy also sparked widespread backlash from the medical community when he claimed, without conclusive scientific evidence, that taking the pain reliever acetaminophen (brand name: Tylenol) during pregnancy causes autism.

Resignations and pushback

More than 1,000 HHS workers signed a letter demanding Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. resign from his Cabinet post. By:

A string of high-profile resignations from the CDC followed, as well as a bombshell letter from 1,000-plus HHS workers calling for RFK Jr. to step down. Meanwhile, the former environmental lawyer and failed independent presidential candidate has gutted the CDC, firing roughly 600 workers there, according to a union spokesperson. Those firings have coincided with the worst U.S. outbreak of measles in 30 years, with more than 1,600 reported cases nationwide — almost all of them among unvaccinated patients — and three deaths.

‘Trump hates bad TV’

Senate Finance Committee members, including Republicans, sharply questioned HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. By:

Kennedy has since been hauled before the Senate Finance Committee, where he faced a fiery interrogation — even from the panel’s Republican members. “That’s not a good sign,” said one insider. “He looked really bad and, as we all know, Trump hates bad TV.” Added another party source, “The American public doesn’t like his shoot-from-the-hip approach to serious disease prevention. And they do not support his repression of vaccines. Trump knows that this is bad politics and very bad optics.”

More potential fallout

“Bobby and I talk about everything, so that’s how we move through everything, and we’re really good friends, and we trust each other,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s wife, actress Cheryl Hines, recently said. By:

Kennedy insiders said RFK Jr.’s potential ouster would likely mean the end of his political career, if not his marriage to Curb Your Enthusiasm‘s Cheryl Hines. Sources said the 60-year-old lifelong Democrat is still seething over revelations her husband allegedly had a digital affair with former New York Magazine journalist Olivia Nuzzi, which was revealed last year. “She’s denied it, but word is she’s waiting until he’s out of the public eye to smack him with divorce papers,” said a snitch. “She may have moved to D.C. for appearances’ sake, but I’ve heard they’re living separate lives there.” A recent report confirmed Nuzzi will soon release a book, American Canto, that will include text messages she and RFK Jr. exchanged. “It’s hard to imagine RFK surviving this with his marriage and job intact,” a source with knowledge of the book told Page Six.

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