Kennedy’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday became heated as Democratic senators grilled the nominee for HHS Secretary on his previous statements about vaccine safety.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., came before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday for a confirmation hearing regarding his nomination as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in the second Trump administration.
In his opening statement, Kennedy directly addressed assertions in the media that he is anti-vaccine and anti-industry. “Well, I am neither,” Kennedy said, instead insisting that he is “pro-safety.” BioSpace has been among the outlets calling the nominee anti-vaccine, citing his extensive work with the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense, which in 2021 was described by the Associated Press as an “anti-vaccine juggernaut.” The organization’s website describes Kennedy as the “Founder and former Chairman of the Board and Chief Legal Counsel of Children’s Health Defense.”
“All of my kids are vaccinated, and I believe vaccines have a critical role in healthcare,” Kennedy said in his opening speech.
If confirmed as HHS secretary, Kennedy vowed to focus on improving overall health in America, which he said is “in a grievous condition. . . . Over 70% of adults and a third of children are overweight or obese. Diabetes is ten times more prevalent than in 1960. Cancer among young people is rising by one or two percent a year.” Other chronic conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, asthma, depression and addiction, are also “on the rise,” Kennedy added.
Senators were not easily swayed, with Democrats focusing on contentious statements that the nominee made in the past, according to several media reports.
According to The Guardian, Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) said that Kennedy spent his career “peddling half-truths,” pointing to one of the nominee’s previous statements calling Lyme disease a military bioweapon. “Out of 330 million Americans, we’re being asked to put somebody in this job who has spent 50 years of his life … peddling theories that create doubt about whether things we know are safe are unsafe,” Bennet added.
“This is too much of a risk for our country,” Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) said of confirming Kennedy, as reported by SeekingAlpha. “There is no reason that any of us should believe that you have reversed the anti-vaccine views that you have promoted for 25 years.”
In a note to investors after the hearing, analysts at Jefferies wrote that despite the heated hearing, they estimate that the committee is split down the middle regarding Kennedy’s confirmation, with Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) as a potential “wild card.”
Kennedy is set to testify before the Senate Health, Education, and Labor Committee on Thursday. If he passes both committee deliberations, Kennedy will then have to face the full Senate. The Jefferies analysts expect the full vote to happen in early February.
