Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. President Trump’s nominee to be secretary of Well being and Human Providers, testifies earlier than a Senate Well being, Training, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee affirmation listening to on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2025.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cleared a key hurdle Tuesday after a Senate panel voted to advance his nomination to be well being and human companies secretary to the total chamber.
In a vote alongside occasion traces, the Senate Finance Committee pushed via Kennedy’s nomination after he managed to allay considerations raised by Sen. Invoice Cassidy, R-La., over his previous anti-vaccine stances.
Cassidy, a physician, signaled he held critical reservations over whether or not Kennedy was certified to guide the huge company, saying he was “struggling” together with his choice after questioning him at two affirmation hearings final week. Along with the Finance Committee, Cassidy serves as chair of the Well being, Training, Labor and Pensions Committee.
In a press release posted to X earlier than Tuesday’s vote, Cassidy stated he had “very intense conversations” with Kennedy and the White Home over the weekend, particularly thanking Vice President JD Vance “for his trustworthy counsel.”
“With the intense commitments I’ve acquired from the administration and the chance to make progress on the problems we agree on like wholesome meals and a pro-American agenda, I’ll vote sure,” Cassidy stated.
A scion of the storied Democratic household, Kennedy ran for president 2024, first as a Democrat after which as an unbiased, earlier than dropping out to endorse Trump. Whereas hitting the path for Trump, Kennedy branded a “Make America Wholesome Once more” marketing campaign, the place he railed in opposition to meals producers and unhealthy components within the nation’s food plan.
Whereas some senators in each events expressed help for making meals merchandise safer, two days of questioning final week revealed different vital objections to Kennedy.
Kennedy tripped up in answering fundamental questions on Medicaid, an space that constitutes a serious a part of the job of well being secretary. Democratic senators objected to what they known as vital conflicts of curiosity ought to he be confirmed, together with that he might not directly financially profit from pending litigation in opposition to a vaccine maker that he would regulate as HHS secretary.
However among the many most vociferous objections to Kennedy got here round his repeated denials of the efficacy of vaccines. In a single committee listening to final week, Cassidy repeatedly took Kennedy to job for his refusal to embrace science exhibiting vaccines don’t trigger autism.
“I can say that I’ve approached it utilizing the preponderance of proof to reassure and you’ve got approached utilizing chosen proof to solid doubt,” Cassidy stated final week.
Cassidy is up for reelection in 2026. He has already drawn a GOP main challenger over his vote to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial.