Here’s The Latest On Trump’s HHS Pick—And Why He’s Controversial

Topline

A conservative group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence is urging Republicans to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary, citing his support for abortion access—as some GOP senators who have expressed concerns about his controversial vaccine views have not said whether they will vote to confirm Kennedy.

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When Will Senators Vote Whether To Confirm Rfk Jr.?

Kennedy’s confirmation hearing before the Senate has yet to be scheduled. Kennedy, or any of President Donald Trump’s nominees, can afford to lose only three Republican votes assuming all Democrats vote against them. Secretary of State Marco Rubio became the first Trump nominee approved by the Senate on Monday.

What Is Rfk Jr.’s Background?

The son of late Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Kennedy is a longtime environmental lawyer and activist. He formally entered the presidential race in April 2023 as a Democratic candidate challenging former President Joe Biden for the party’s nomination, before switching to run as an independent in October that year. He dropped out of the race in August and endorsed Trump. Both suggested in subsequent months that Kennedy would be offered a job in the Trump administration, and Trump nominated him to lead HHS in November. Prior to Kennedy’s entrance into the presidential race, he was a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement, including during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is also married to actress Cheryl Hines.

What Is Rfk Jr.’s Stance On Abortion?

Kennedy supports “the principles laid out in Roe v. Wade,” according to his campaign website, which quotes him saying “abortion is a tragedy, but I don’t trust the government to make these decisions for Americans.” He said in 2023 he supports a 15-week abortion ban, but later retracted the statement.

What Are Rfk Jr.’s Views On Vaccines?

Kennedy has a long history of promoting conspiracies about childhood vaccines, including the theory that the preservative thimerosal—which has been phased out of most modern vaccine formulas—is linked to autism, a claim that’s been thoroughly discredited by medical studies. In a podcast last year with Lex Fridman, Kennedy said “there’s no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective.” He walked back the statement in a subsequent interview with CNN, calling it a “bad use of words” and has often denied that he’s anti-vaccine. He gained notoriety during the Covid-19 pandemic for fueling conspiracies about the vaccines. He suggested they were related to a “wave of suspicious deaths,” according to The New York Times, and told Louisiana lawmakers it was the “deadliest vaccine ever made.” Medical authorities have said the vaccines do not increase the risk of death from non-Covid causes, and are a safe and effective means of preventing the virus, with serious side-effects extremely rare. Kennedy was the top “superspreader” of misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine on Twitter, accounting for 13% of daily retweets of low-credibility information, according to a study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. His Children’s Health Defense nonprofit filed multiple legal actions against pandemic-related public health directives and vaccine mandates, including a petition in 2021 asking the Food and Drug Administration to revoke authorization of the vaccine, The New York Times reported. In the petition, the group advocated for other treatments instead of vaccines, including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, despite them having already been deemed ineffective.

What Else Has Kennedy Said About The Covid-19 Pandemic?

In his 2021 book, “The Real Anthony Fauci,” he accused the former National Institutes of Health chief of working with Bill Gates to wage a “a historic coup d’état against Western democracy” by exaggerating the effects of the pandemic to control the media and public health sphere. He also falsely claimed at a July 2023 dinner party that “Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people” and “the people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese,” according to video footage of the remarks published by the New York Post.

What Other Health-Related Conspiracies Has Rfk Jr. Promoted?

He’s suggested wireless technology contributes to cancer, alleging WiFi “radiation” causes what he referred to as “cellphone tumors” and “opens your blood brain barrier” to toxins in a June 2024 interview with Joe Rogan. He’s implied that HIV might not cause AIDS, and he’s insinuated a link between school and a rise in the use of antidepressant drugs. There is no credible medical evidence to support the theories.

What Are Rfk Jr.’s Plans For Health And Human Services?

Kennedy has promised that he would allow people to make their own assessments of whether they want to receive vaccines, telling NBC News in November “if vaccines are working for somebody, I’m not going to take them away” and explaining that their choices “ought to be informed by the best information.” In the interview, he promised to “end the chronic disease epidemic,” including by assessing food ingredients. He vowed to eliminate “entire departments” he believes have been ineffective, including nutrition departments at the Food and Drug Administration. Addressing his views on fluoride in water, he said he would warn water districts about their “legal liability” to deliver safe drinking water.

What Are The Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Rfk Jr.?

A former live-in nanny for the Kennedy family, Eliza Cooney, told multiple outlets last year he groped her and made repeated sexual advances while she was working for him in the 1990s. Kennedy texted her an apology when the story broke, writing, “I have no memory of this incident but I apologize sincerely for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable or anything I did or said that offended you or hurt your feelings,” according to NBC and The Washington Post, which reviewed the text messages. When asked about a Vanity Fair story that revealed the allegation, he called the article a “lot of garbage,” but didn’t address Cooney’s allegation.

Do Any Democratic Senators Support Rfk Jr.?

None have said definitively they’ll vote for him, though Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., hasn’t ruled out the prospect. Sanders told CBS in December he hadn’t decided how he’ll vote, calling Kennedy’s stance that fluoride should be removed from water “extremely dangerous” and his views on vaccines “very wrong,” but telling the network his criticism of food ingredients is “exactly correct.” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is also considered a swing vote on all of Trump’s nominations, as he’s urged his party to stop “freaking out” over every controversial move Trump makes.

Have Any Republican Senators Come Out Against Rfk Jr.?

No. While some, including Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, expressed some tempered skepticism about his initial nomination, he has reportedly retooled his anti-vaccine image in meetings with senators. “He told me he is not anti-vaccine. He is pro-vaccine safety, which strikes me as a rational position to take,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Politico. While on Capitol Hill last month, Kennedy told reporters he is “all for the polio vaccine,” despite saying in recent years the first polio vaccine might have caused cancers “that killed many, many, many, many, many more people than polio ever did,” and disputing the fact that the vaccine reduced polio cases, The New York Times reported. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a polio survivor issued a statement in defense of the polio vaccine when the Times reported in December that a Kennedy confidant helping him make HHS hiring decisions, lawyer Aaron Siri, petitioned the government to revoke the polio vaccine. “Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they’re dangerous,” McConnell said. “Anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts.” Neither McConnell nor Cassidy, a physician who told Fox News earlier this month Kennedy is “wrong” about vaccines, have said publicly how they plan to vote. Murkowski also told Politico she was undecided after meeting with Kennedy on Capitol Hill.

What Does Trump Say About Rfk Jr.?

In announcing Kennedy’s nomination, Trump said “HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country.” In October, Trump said he would let Kennedy “go wild on health . . . food” and “medicines.”

Further Reading

RFK Jr.’s Conspiracy Theories: Here’s What Trump’s Pick For Health Secretary Has Promoted (Forbes)

RFK Jr. Cabinet Nomination: Dozens Of Nobel Winners Urge Senate To Reject Trump’s HHS Pick (Forbes)

RFK Jr. Launches Independent Presidential Bid—Challenging Biden And Trump (Forbes)