Nobel laureate letter opposing RFK Jr confirmation loaded with Dem donors, officials: 'Thinly veiled attempt'

A letter signed by 77 Nobel laureates opposing the confirmation of Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. being touted as a reason to oppose him is almost entirely composed of political donors, many of them who supported Democrat campaigns.

"In view of his record, placing Mr. Kennedy in charge of DHHS would put the public’s health in jeopardy and undermine America’s global leadership in the health sciences, in both the public and commercial sectors," more than 75 Nobel laureates wrote in an open letter published by the New York Times last month. 

A Fox News Digital review found that at least 60 of the signatories are political donors, mostly to Democratic campaigns, including Steven Chu, who served as former President Barack Obama’s secretary of Energy. Chu gave $5,400 to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016. 

Nobel Medicine Laureate Joseph L. Goldstein, who also signed the letter, has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats, including former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, former President Joe Biden and the Democrat-aligned SMP Super PAC.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Getty)

American economist George A. Akerlof, who is married to Biden Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, also signed the letter on top of donating $25,000 to Biden in 2020 and $20,000 to the DCCC in 2018.

Akerlof signed a letter in June of last year warning of the economic dangers of electing President Donald Trump back into office, which was amplified by the Biden campaign and other Biden surrogates and also littered with signatories who have either donated to Biden or supported him politically in the past.

Akerlof, who donated nearly $90,000 to Democrats between the 1990s and 2022, also signed a letter supporting Build Back Better, and signed a letter in 2020 calling Trump’s re-election effort "selfish and reckless."

Louis E. Brus, an American chemist who signed the letter, is a frequent Democrat donor, including sending $2,000 to Biden’s campaign.

Chemists Walter Gilbert, Johann Deisenhofer, Alan Heeger and Brian K. Kobilka also donated to Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Obama, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. 

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services logo. (AP/Jacqueline Larma)

Other signatories include Planned Parenthood donor David Baltimore, John Kerry donor Michael Rosbash, former President Bill Clinton NIH Director Harold E. Varmus and Adam Schiff donor Kip Stephen Thorne. 

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. hosts a fireside chat with rapper and producer Eric B. at The Gentleman's Factory on Feb. 18, 2024. (John Nacion/Getty Images)

"If there’s one thing Americans should understand about politics, it’s that things are rarely as they seem," Camryn Kinsey, executive director of Confirm 47, told Fox News Digital. "This letter appears to be nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt by special interests to block a critical Cabinet nomination. The fact that one of the signers is a former Obama Cabinet official, and that the majority are Democrat donors, tells you everything you need to know."

Kennedy is also facing a million-dollar opposition campaign from Protect Our Care, which is backed by the dark money group Sixteen Thirty Fund that is not required to disclose its donors, Politico reported.

The dark money fund is a group "committed to tackling society's biggest social challenges" such as climate change and gun reform, brought in $181 million, spending about $141 million in 2023.

Kennedy, who has been criticized by both sides of the aisle for previous positions on vaccines and his stance on abortion, will have his first confirmation hearing Wednesday at 10 a.m. 

On top of facing opposition from experts in the New York Times letter and other petitions, Kennedy has faced support in the medical community, including an initiative backed by IMA Action, a coalition of over 15,000 healthcare professionals, who are rallying support for Kennedy.

"Our coalition is broad, highly active and deeply committed to much needed healthcare reform," Lynne Kristensen, Communications Director for IMA Action, said in a statement. "We’re going to push back against the falsehoods of the Pharma-financed opposition to RFK Jr., and our healthcare professionals will be exceedingly active with their home state senators, policy makers and public health agencies."

"The Kennedy and other HHS confirmations are about restoring health to America’s healthcare system, and IMA Action is excited for health reform to be at the forefront of the national conversation."

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..