Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Accused of Neglecting 9/11 First Responders' Before 25th Anniversary: 'We Will Not Cower or Bow to Anyone Who Aims to Harm Us'

A prominent 9/11 advocate has accused Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of neglecting first responders in an editorial published days before the 25th anniversary of the attacks.

John Feal, a former responder who founded an advocacy group for the 9/11 community, wrote in a USA Today op-ed that staffing and funding decisions under Kennedy have damaged the federal program that treats survivors and responders.

"We will not cower or bow to anyone who aims to harm us," Feal wrote.

Feal, who founded the FealGood Foundation after being injured in the recovery effort, used the editorial to accuse the administration of betraying the people the program was built to serve. He argued the 9/11 community "should not have to fight our own government to obtain, use and even expand the benefits we gave our health for in the first place."

He described Kennedy's tenure as emblematic of a broken promise. The secretary, Feal wrote, is "a case study in how #NeverForget gets ignored and, worse, exploited."

He closed the op-ed defiantly, writing that those in the 9/11 community "will #NeverForget, and we will not cower or bow to anyone who aims to harm us," and adding that he hoped Kennedy would "follow Musk out the door soon enough."

The World Trade Center Health Program provides medical monitoring, treatment and medication at no cost to people sickened by the toxins released at Ground Zero and the other attack sites. It covers around 140,000 responders and survivors, many diagnosed with cancers, respiratory illnesses and other conditions tied to the aftermath of the attacks.

The program was created under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act and is administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH. Because it relies on doctors, researchers, and administrators employed by that broader agency, cuts to NIOSH staffing do affect its operations directly.

Feal's op-ed ran down a year of documented turmoil at the program. In the column, he wrote that in the days after Kennedy was sworn in, HHS "fired thousands of probationary employees," a cut he said "hit the already understaffed WTC Health Program hardest, wiping out 20 percent of its staff overnight."

Reporting over the past year has similarly described a shrinking workforce and lengthening wait times for responders seeking care, even as enrollment grew. Some staff were later reinstated after public pressure.

Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and GOP colleagues from the New York area sought a meeting with HHS and CDC officials about the program's challenges, while Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand urged Kennedy to reverse the earlier cuts.

Schumer called the notion that the funding amounted to government waste "outrageous and insulting." Meanwhile, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has also asked the administration to restore staffing.

Kennedy has responded to the mounting criticism by saying he is working to resolve the program's problems. After a series of complaints from lawmakers earlier this year, the secretary said he is "fixing" the issues affecting the program, and the administration has pointed to steps including the reinstatement of some previously cut workers.

The program's finances remain a longer-term question, with advocates pointing to a projected multibillion-dollar shortfall in the years ahead and Congress contemplating additional funding. Spokespeople for HHS and the health program haven't always responded to requests for comment on the specific staffing figures.

The dispute has intensified as the anniversary approaches and responders continue seeking care a quarter-century after the attacks.