What causes RFK Jr.’s strained and shaky voice? A neurologist explains this little-known disorder

By: Indu Subramanian, University of California, Los Angeles, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: November 27, 2025

Words: 1,242

Last Updated: 1 month, 2 weeks ago

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By Indu Subramanian, University of California, Los Angeles

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has attracted a lot of attention for his raspy voice, which results from a neurological voice disorder called spasmodic dysphonia.

Kennedy, 71, says that in his 40s he developed a neurological disease that “robbed him of his strong speaking voice.” Kennedy first publicly spoke of the quiver he had noticed in his voice in a 2004 …

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