WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed by the Senate as President Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services on Thursday, capping a contentious fight over his skepticism on vaccines that had divided Republicans.
Senators voted 52-48 to place Kennedy, 71, atop the nation’s health bureaucracy with oversight of a budget of roughly $1.7 trillion.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) opposed Kennedy’s confirmation, along with every Democrat.
RFK Jr., a longtime environmental lawyer and vaccine skeptic had received assurances this week from Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that they would back him, easing the path to Trump’s cabinet.
“I continue to have concerns about Mr. Kennedy’s views on vaccines and his selective interpretation of scientific studies, which initially caused my misgivings about his nomination,” Murkowski said Wednesday.
“Vaccines have saved millions of lives, and I sought assurance that, as HHS Secretary, he would do nothing to make it difficult for people to take vaccines or discourage vaccination efforts.
“He has made numerous commitments to me and my colleagues, promising to work with Congress to ensure public access to information and to base vaccine recommendations on data-driven, evidence-based, and medically sound research,” she added.
“These commitments are important to me and, on balance, provide assurance for my vote.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee that vetted RFK Jr., had also thrown his weight behind Trump’s HHS nom after receiving a commitment that the two would meet regularly and that Kennedy would tout the importance of immunizations.
The son of the late attorney general and senator from New York had spent years disparaging the safety and efficacy of vaccines for polio, measles and hepatitis B, writing several books on the subject and founding the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense, which has sued the government and pharmaceutical companies over vaccines.
Those remarks became the subject of attacks by members of his former party during Kennedy’s confirmation hearings in the Senate HELP and Finance Committees — and nearly derailed his chance to shore up Republican support even as he repeatedly said he was “pro-vaccine.”
RFK Jr. also backed off or downplayed other outlandish statements about Lyme disease being a military-engineered “bioweapon,” COVID-19 being “ethnically targeted” against black and Caucasian people, and refusing to “take sides” on the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US — as recently as last year.
Despite Kennedy fumbling questions on the distinctions between Medicare and Medicaid, most Republicans had supported Trump’s HHS pick throughout the confirmation process — including Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), whose panel vetted Kennedy.
“Mr. Kennedy’s decades of experience and deep drive to advocate on behalf of consumers will set a patient-centered tone at the department,” Crapo said in a floor speech Wednesday, citing “his passion for addressing America’s chronic disease epidemic.”
That movement — known by its “Make America Healthy Again” moniker — had received an endorsement from even far-left Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), but neither the Democratic socialist nor Kennedy’s ex-law school classmate, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), broke ranks with their party to confirm him.
In his first confirmation hearing, Kennedy had drawn attention to startling figures about chronic disease and rising obesity in the US.
“When my uncle was president, 3% of Americans were obese. Today, 74% of Americans are obese or overweight,” RFK Jr. told Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) in the hearing. “Epidemics are not caused by genes. Something is poisoning the American people, and we know that the primary culprit’s our changing food supply.”
“As he has demonstrated in both public and private settings, Mr. Kennedy is committed to reorienting our approach to health care and restoring faith in our institutions,” Crapo said on the Senate floor, promising the nominee “will save lives, reduce costs and establish a foundation for a healthier, stronger country.”
