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Ongoing story / Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The push to remove RFK Jr., from the calls to resign to the impeachment talk

Overview · reviewed November 13, 2026

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has faced repeated calls to leave office since August 2025, when his ouster of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Susan Monarez drew demands for his resignation from Democratic senators, health department employees and members of his own family.[1][2] A House Democrat filed articles of against him that December,[3] documents published in 2026 contradicted his Senate testimony about a 2019 trip to Samoa,[4][5] and after Democrats won Congress in November 2026, senators opened inquiries into that testimony and into gifts he received, while some Democrats weighed impeachment.[6][7][8]

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A House Democrat filed articles of against him that December,[3] documents published in 2026 contradicted his Senate testimony about a 2019 trip to Samoa,[4][5] and after Democrats won Congress in November 2026, senators opened inquiries into that testimony and into gifts he received, while some Democrats weighed impeachment.[6][7][8]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-08-25 (UTC): 4%, 7 of 199 tracked outlets (5 left, 0 center, 2 right)Week of 2025-09-01 (UTC): 9%, 16 of 177 tracked outlets (4 left, 9 center, 3 right)Week of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): 5%, 9 of 184 tracked outlets (1 left, 5 center, 3 right)Week of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): 3%, 5 of 177 tracked outlets (1 left, 3 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): 4%, 17 of 466 tracked outlets (7 left, 8 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 1%, 4 of 471 tracked outlets (0 left, 1 center, 3 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): 5%, 25 of 474 tracked outlets (6 left, 14 center, 5 right), so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 4 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (7 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 9, 2026 (so far)614525 of 4745%
Nov 2, 20260134 of 4711%
Aug 24, 202678217 of 4664%
Feb 2, 20261315 of 1773%
Dec 8, 20251539 of 1845%
Sep 1, 202549316 of 1779%
Aug 25, 20255027 of 1994%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 13, 2026 · first reported · Headline from WHEC Rochester

    Democrats are weighing impeachment of RFK Jr. while courting his supporters

Background

The calls began after Kennedy ousted Monarez in August 2025 and several senior CDC officials resigned; he said the agency was "in trouble and we need to fix it."[1] More than 1,000 current and former Health and Human Services employees demanded his resignation, family members called him a "threat" to Americans' health, and 11 of the 12 Democratic senators on the committee where he was about to testify called on him to resign.[2] In December, Rep. Haley Stevens of Michigan filed articles of impeachment against him, in what The Columbian called a likely futile effort to oust him.[3]

Read the full background (2 more paragraphs)

His testimony about Samoa opened a second front. At his confirmation hearings he said a 2019 trip there, before a deadly measles outbreak, had nothing to do with vaccines. Emails obtained in February 2026 undermined that account, and Sen. Ron Wyden accused him of lying to Congress.[4] In August, documents obtained by The Guardian and The Associated Press contradicted it,[5] and in November Wyden and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks opened an investigation into whether he lied to Congress about the trip and about statements he made on measles deaths.[6]

The pressure grew after the midterms. Alsobrooks renewed her call for him to be removed,[9] two Democratic senators opened a probe after financial reports showed he had received more than $250,000 in gifts last year from de Becker, a private security consultant and former donor to his presidential campaign,[7] and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear asked Trump to remove him.[10] With Democrats taking over Congress in January, some lawmakers suggested impeachment while others looked for areas where they could work with him, and Kennedy wrote after the election, "It's time to unleash the Kraken."[8][11] His confirmation and his changes to vaccine policy are followed in their own Stories.

Supporting stories (11)
  1. RFK Jr faces calls to quit as CDC chief fired and senior staff resign: ‘an embarrassment’
  2. RFK. Jr’s family members say he is a ‘threat’ to Americans’ health and call for his resignation
  3. House Democrat files impeachment articles against RFK Jr.
  4. Newly obtained emails undermine RFK Jr.'s testimony about 2019 Samoa trip before measles outbreak
  5. RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute that
  6. Senators probing RFK Jr.'s testimony on Samoa trip after AP and Guardian showed documents refute it
  7. Democrats investigate RFK Jr, donor over expensive gifts
  8. Democrats are weighing impeachment of RFK Jr. while courting his supporters
  9. Democrat Senator Calling For RFK Jr To ‘Resign Or Be Fired’ Backed By Big Pharma
  10. Kentucky governor calls for removal of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
  11. Will Democrats try to impeach Kennedy, or actually work with him?

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 11 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Democrats are weighing impeachment of RFK Jr. while courting his supportersHeadline from KAAL Rochester · 12 outlets
  2. Kentucky governor calls for removal of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Headline from Foxlexington · 3 outlets
  3. Will Democrats try to impeach Kennedy, or actually work with him?Headline from The Boston Globe · 2 outlets
  4. Senators probing RFK Jr.'s testimony on Samoa trip after AP and Guardian showed documents refute itHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 14 outlets
  5. Democrats investigate RFK Jr, donor over expensive giftsHeadline from The Hill · 3 outlets
  6. Democrat Senator Calling For RFK Jr To ‘Resign Or Be Fired’ Backed By Big PharmaHeadline from Hot Air · 4 outlets

August 2026

  1. RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute thatHeadline from STAT · 18 outlets

February 2026

  1. Newly obtained emails undermine RFK Jr.'s testimony about 2019 Samoa trip before measles outbreakHeadline from MyNorthwest · 5 outlets

December 2025

  1. House Democrat files impeachment articles against RFK Jr.Headline from NBC News · 9 outlets

September 2025

  1. RFK. Jr’s family members say he is a ‘threat’ to Americans’ health and call for his resignationHeadline from Seattle Times · 18 outlets

August 2025

  1. RFK Jr faces calls to quit as CDC chief fired and senior staff resign: ‘an embarrassment’Headline from The Guardian · 9 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →