US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced widespread criticism from civil rights organizations, healthcare advocates and Democratic lawmakers after making false claims about Arab contributions to science and literature during a Republican campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Monday.
His remarks, delivered ahead of the midterm elections, intensified concerns over anti-Arab and anti-Muslim rhetoric in an increasingly contentious Senate campaign.
Kennedy asserted that approximately 500 million Arabs had failed to produce significant scientific or literary achievements, including Nobel Prizes, Fields Medals and Wolf Prizes.
The claims contradict the documented achievements of numerous Arab scientists, writers and political figures.
Egyptian-American chemist Ahmed Zewail received the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, while Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Jordanian-born chemist Omar Yaghi received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the 2018 Wolf Prize in Chemistry.
Other recipients include Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman, Egyptian diplomat Mohamed El Baradei and mathematician Michael Atiyah, who was of Lebanese descent.
Kennedy attributed what he described as societal stagnation to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization founded in Egypt in 1928.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned Kennedy's statements as racist and warned that such rhetoric could intensify hostility toward Arab and Muslim communities.
Healthcare advocacy organization Protect Our Care similarly criticized his remarks, while Democratic Senator Chris Murphy warned about efforts to delegitimize Muslim Americans.
Kennedy made the comments while supporting Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim candidate who has faced repeated accusations concerning alleged Muslim Brotherhood connections.
El-Sayed has denied those allegations and publicly disavowed the organization.
President Donald Trump has also attacked El-Sayed, invoking the September 11 attacks and repeatedly describing him as a jihadist without evidence.
The controversy unfolded as Kennedy visited Michigan to promote Detroit health department funding and hospital agreements aimed at improving food quality.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment.