Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will emphasize that he is not ‘anti-vaccine’ when he appears Wednesday in Congress at the first of two straight days of Senate confirmation hearings.
‘I want to make sure the Committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. Well, I am neither; I am pro-safety,’ Kennedy will say in his opening statement in front of the Senate Finance Committee.
The statement was shared first with Fox News ahead of the appearance by Kennedy, who, if confirmed, would have control over 18 powerful federal agencies, including 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.
And Kennedy will emphasize he’s not ‘the enemy of food producers. American farms are the bedrock of our culture and national security … I want to work with our farmers and food producers to remove burdensome regulations and unleash American ingenuity.’
The hearing, as well as a Thursday hearing in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (a courtesy hearing as only the Senate Finance Committee will vote on Kennedy’s confirmation), are expected to be contentious because of Kennedy’s controversial vaccine views, including his repeated claims linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.
Kennedy also served for years 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 over the authorization of the COVID vaccine for children.
After Trump’s convincing November presidential election victory, Kennedy has said he won’t ‘take away anybody’s vaccines.’
And in his opening statement at his confirmation hearing, Kennedy will spotlight that ‘all of my kids are vaccinated, and I believe vaccines have a critical role in healthcare.’
But he will also say, ‘In my advocacy, I have disturbed the status quo by asking uncomfortable questions. Well, I won’t apologize for that. We have massive health problems in this country that we must face honestly.’
HHS is a massive federal department, with approximately 90,000 people and an annual budget of roughly $1.7 trillion. And Kennedy has said he wants to shift the focus of the agencies he would oversee toward promotion of a healthy lifestyle and the root causes of chronic diseases, which has garnered some bipartisan support in Congress.
Kennedy has said he would aim to overhaul dietary guidelines and take aim at ultra-processed foods, among other initiatives.
