Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is back on Capitol Hill for a second day of Senate confirmation hearings after a grilling by Democrats during a contentious first day on Wednesday.
Kennedy will take questions on Thursday in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
On Wednesday, in front of the Senate Finance Committee, which will vote on Kennedy’s confirmation, there were plenty of verbal fireworks over past controversial comments by the vaccine skeptic and environmental crusader who ran for the White House in 2024 before ending his bid and endorsing Trump.
But Kennedy’s uneven performance didn’t appear to do damage to his confirmation, as no Republican on the panel voiced opposition to his nomination to lead 18 powerful federal agencies that oversee the nation’s food and health. Those agencies include 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.
Democrats on the committee repeatedly pointed to Kennedy’s controversial vaccine views, including his repeated claims in recent years linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.
They also spotlighted Kennedy’s service 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.
‘Mr. Kennedy has embraced conspiracy theories, quacks and charlatans, especially when it comes to the safety and efficacy of vaccines. He’s made it his life’s work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids life-saving vaccines,’ Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the panel, charged in his opening statement.
The senator also pointed to past Kennedy vaccine comments in podcasts, including one from 2020 when he said he would ‘pay anything’ to be able to go back in time and not vaccinate his kids.
‘Are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro-vaccine? Or did you lie on all those podcasts?’ Wyden asked.
Pushing back in a heated exchange, Kennedy said the statements he made on podcasts have ‘been repeatedly debunked.’
And he vowed he would do nothing to prevent Americans from obtaining certain vaccines.
