- Health
- Native America
As U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was visiting a conservative charter school in Gallup on Wednesday morning, the head of New Mexico’s Democratic Party held a news conference to denounce Kennedy as a “conspiracy theorist and an amateur cabinet secretary.”
“It’s disgraceful that he’s visiting a part of the state that lost so many lives to COVID, a disease that he consistently spread misinformation about,” said Jessica Velasquez, chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. “RFK’s platform isn’t just fringe, it’s deadly, especially for people in our rural and tribal areas. He’s proved time and again that he shouldn’t be trusted with our lives, our health or our communities.”
The office of Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren published a schedule showing that it was hosting Kennedy for two hours on Wednesday morning. According to the schedule, Nygren and Kennedy were expected to hike on the Window Rock trail, attend a welcoming address by the head of the nation’s health department, take part in a blessing ceremony and watch a performance by the Dineh Tah’ Navajo Dancers.
The schedule shows Kennedy then headed to Hózhó Academy in the Navajo Nation border town of Gallup, which Source NM on Tuesday revealed to be one likely stop during his visit.
As Kennedy was scheduled to visit the school, Velasquez told reporters in a virtual news conference it’s “ironic” that Kennedy is visiting the Navajo Nation, “which was ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, almost more than any other community in our country.”
The Navajo Nation in May 2020 reported one of the highest per-capita COVID-19 infection rates in the United States. Velasquez said Donald Trump’s first presidential administration botched the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, “and we can’t afford another.”
At least one Indian Health Service building in Gallup is on a list of lease terminations proposed by the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” which Velasquez also mentioned on Wednesday.
“Our tribes know the cost of public health failure,” she said. “They experienced one of the highest COVID-19 death rates per capita in the United States. If RFK had been in charge during COVID, I think it’s safe to say that more people would have died, especially in rural and Indigenous communities where access to health care is already limited.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the Republican Party of New Mexico issued a news release expressing gratitude to Kennedy for visiting the state, saying his trip “highlights his deep commitment to addressing the healthcare and wellness needs of our tribal communities.”
Sharon Clahchischilliage, a member of the Navajo Nation and the GOP’s vice chair for the state’s third congressional district, said in a statement that Kennedy’s connection to Native communities is “genuine and deeply rooted.”
“He told us he promised tribes during his campaign that he’d look into their needs — healthcare, Indian Health Service challenges, and more — and he’s keeping that promise,” Clahchischilliage said in a statement. “For me, as a Native woman and educator, it was incredibly encouraging to see someone of his stature show such respect for our sovereignty and truly understand our rural healthcare struggles. He’s a perfect fit for this role.”
‘What’s next, polio?’
Velasquez also pointed to the measles outbreak in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas, with nearly 60 cases in New Mexico.
New Mexico’s health department on Tuesday said an unvaccinated child in Chaves County has measles, adding a third county to the ongoing outbreak in the state’s southeastern section.
Velasquez said she has strong feelings about Kennedy’s visit because she has school-aged children, and she “can’t imagine what those families in southern New Mexico are going through, dealing with a disease that should be extinct in this country.”
“The consistent misinformation from Kennedy has contributed to this measles outbreak, a disease that was all but eradicated in the United States,” Velasquez said. “With RFK at the helm at Health and Human Services, what’s next, polio?”
In response to questions on Tuesday from Source about the measles outbreak and Kennedy’s visit, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham noted the HHS Secretary’s remarks over the weekend endorsing the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine after he visited with families in Gaines County, Texas who lost children to the disease.
“I hope that, given that he’s been exposed to measles, I assume he’s now immune, given his age and that I think he got a measles vaccine younger. I don’t know what his entourage looks like and I hope that they are vaccinated and, if they’re not, I hope they’re not coming into New Mexico exposing anyone else, because it would be the worst public-facing engagement of a health secretary in anyone’s lifetime,” she said, adding: “I appreciate that he’s all about the vaccine, but spread is spread.”
Velasquez said John Enders, the scientist who helped culture the virus that causes polio in human muscle and tissue in a laboratory setting, “must be rolling in his grave,” along with Jonas Salk, another scientist who developed the techniques that lead to the polio vaccine, and Louis Pasteur, whose studies helped popularize the germ theory of disease.
This story was updated following publication to include information from the state Republican Party.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.Last updated 6:29 a.m., Apr. 11, 2025
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