The tense Senate confirmation hearings have concluded.
However, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), must still pass important committee and full Senate confirmation votes in order to command 18 powerful government departments that regulate the nation’s food and health.
Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday and the Health Committee on Thursday, the vaccine skeptic and environmental warrior who campaigned for president in 2024 before dropping out and embracing Trump encountered plenty of verbal pyrotechnics for previous inflammatory remarks.
While Democrats on the two committees posed the most of the tough questions and sparred over Kennedy’s positions on vaccinations, abortion, Medicaid, and other topics, Thursday’s hearing concluded with the senior Republican on the Health panel stating he was “struggling” with Kennedy’s candidacy.
“Your history of undermining trust in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me,” Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy told the candidate.
The physician from Louisiana, who is a key vote and has expressed reservations about Kennedy’s earlier attitude on vaccinations, questioned if Kennedy can “be trusted to support the best public health.”
And the senator informed Kennedy, who hopes to run important health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, that “you may be hearing from me over the weekend.”
Kennedy was grilled for two days over his controversial prior statements, including repeated claims in recent years tying vaccines to autism, which have been discredited by scientific studies.
Democrats have also highlighted Kennedy’s years of service as chair or chief legal counsel for Children’s Health Defense, the nonprofit organization he founded that has advocated against vaccines and sued the federal government numerous times, including a challenge to the authorization of the COVID vaccine for kids.
One of Thursday’s most heated arguments occurred when independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont pressed Kennedy on his history of associating vaccinations to autism.
Sanders declared that “vaccines do not cause autism” and questioned Kennedy, “Do you agree with that?”
After the nominee didn’t respond, Sanders said, “I asked you a simple question, Bobby.”
He responded: “Senator, if you show me those studies, I will absolutely … apologize.”
“That is a really worrying answer, because the research are available. Sanders said that it was your responsibility as an applicant for this position to review those studies.
Later in the hearing, the two disagreed on political contributions to the pharmaceutical business, with Kennedy merely referring to Sanders as “Bernie.”
“Almost all the members of this panel, including yourself, are accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry and protecting their interests,” according to Kennedy.
Sanders instantly responded, “I ran for president like you. I received millions and millions of donations. They did not originate from the CEOs, nor did they get any PAC (political action committee) funds from pharmaceutical corporations. They came from the laborers.”
Another heated moment occurred when Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire tried to hold back tears as she mentioned her son’s cerebral palsy issues, despite charges that “partisanship” was behind the Democrats’ stinging questions to Kennedy.
Hassan, who said at Wednesday’s hearing that Kennedy “sold out” to Trump by changing his abortion stance, accused the nominee on Thursday of “relitigating settled science.”
However, numerous Republicans on the panel defended Kennedy, including conservative Senator Rand Paul.
The ophthalmologist from Kentucky backed Kennedy and criticized statements about vaccinations not causing autism.
“We don’t know what causes autism, so we should be more humble,” Paul remarked to cheers from Kennedy supporters in the committee chamber, dressed in “Make America Healthy Again” attire.
In April 2023, the 71-year-old Kennedy, a member of the country’s most illustrious political family, began a longshot bid for the Democratic presidential nomination against President Joe Biden. However, six months later, he turned to an independent campaign for the White House.
Kennedy made waves again last August when he withdrew his presidential candidacy in favor of Trump. While Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and frequently invoked his late father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, who were both assassinated in the 1960s, he has recently developed relationships with far-right leaders, owing in part to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.
Trump said shortly after the November election that he would appoint Kennedy to his Cabinet to lead HHS.
Kennedy, whose outspoken views on Big Pharma and the food industry have sparked controversy, has stated that he intends to shift the focus of the agencies he will oversee toward the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, which includes overhauling dietary guidelines, targeting ultra-processed foods, and addressing the root causes of chronic diseases.
“Our country will not be destroyed because we set the marginal tax rate incorrectly. “It will be destroyed if we get this issue wrong,” Kenendy warned Thursday, referring to chronic ailments. “And I am in a unique position to be able to stop this epidemic.”
The Finance Committee, which will determine whether to advance Kennedy’s nomination to the entire Senate, has yet to set a date for a confirmation vote.
With Republicans controlling the Senate by a 53-47 margin, Kennedy can only afford to lose the backing of three GOP senators if Democrats band together oppose his nomination.
Aside from Cassidy, two additional Republicans on the Health Committee, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, are probable “no” votes for Kennedy.
Collins questioned Kennedy on Thursday on vaccines, herd immunity, and his position on Lyme disease. Kenendy stated that “nobody will fight harder for a treatment for Lyme disease.”
A 50-50 vote in the full Senate would compel Vice President JD Vance to act as the tiebreaker to advance the Kennedy nomination, as he did last week with the approval of another contentious candidate, now-Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.