PROVIDENCE, R.I. >> A letter submitted to the U.S. Senate that states it was sent by physicians in support of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination as secretary of health and human services includes the names of doctors who have had their licenses revoked, suspended or faced other discipline, The Associated Press has found.

The letter was meant to lend credibility to Kennedy’s nomination, which has faced strenuous opposition from medical experts due to his two decades of anti-vaccine activism. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a medical doctor who boasts on his official website of an effort he created to vaccinate 36,000 children against hepatitis B, expressed hesitancy about Kennedy’s nomination and is seen as a key vote.

The AP found that in addition to the physicians who had faced disciplinary action, many of the nearly 800 signers are not doctors. The letter with the names of those who signed was provided to the AP by Sen. Ron Johnson’s office after he entered it into the Congressional Record on Wednesday during the first of Kennedy’s two confirmation hearings.

Among those who signed it were a self-described journalist, a certified public accountant, a firefighter/paramedic, a certified health coach and someone who said they had a bachelor’s degree “with an emphasis on Jungian Psychology.” The signers include at least 75 nurses, as well as physician assistants. More than 90 did not include any credentials at all.

Over 20 were chiropractors, representing an industry that has funded Kennedy’s work.

The letter was organized and submitted by MAHA Action, which is run by Del Bigtree, who worked for Kennedy’s presidential campaign and is a longtime anti-vaccine activist.

Emma Post, a MAHA Action spokesperson, said in an email that the letter was “shared and circulated organically in a grassroots manner with explicit instructions that it was for physicians only to sign on to.” She did not address the AP’s questions about what further steps the group took to verify credentials, if any.

Bigtree and Kennedy did not return messages seeking comment. A White House spokesman, Kush Desai, said the administration looks forward to the Senate’s swift confirmation of Kennedy.

The letter includes the header “Doctors for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” and begins with the words, “We, the undersigned physicians.” It says lower down that it “reflects the collective voice of physicians and medical professionals” committed to addressing chronic disease.

The AP’s review found that at least 10 doctors who signed the letter had run into trouble with state medical boards or their board certification body for a variety of alleged misconduct. Sanctions they faced included having their license revoked or suspended, being put on probation, receiving a reprimand or other action. One received a warning letter from the Federal Trade Commission, which said he was unlawfully advertising products as treatments or prevention for COVID-19, including intravenous nutrient therapy and vitamins.

At least two of the doctors were disciplined, prior to the pandemic, for improperly giving out vaccine waivers, including one who had his license revoked and another who was put on probation. Another doctor’s license was revoked for refusing to follow COVID-19 guidelines.

Opponents of Kennedy’s nomination sent their own letter with signatures from what they said were more than 18,000 “vetted and verified” doctors.