Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
During the hearings, Democrats 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.
While no Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee were expected to vote to confirm Kennedy, the spotlight was on Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana physician and chair of the Senate Health Committee.
Cassidy issued a last minute endorsement indicating a party line vote for Kennedy.
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"Your past of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me," Cassidy told Kennedy at the end of Thursday's confirmation hearing.
Cassidy's office confirmed Sunday evening that the senator and Kennedy had been speaking earlier that day.
The 71-year-old Kennedy, a scion of the nation's most storied political dynasty, launched a long-shot campaign for the Democrat presidential nomination against President Joe Biden in April 2023. But six months later, he switched to an independent run for the White House.
Kennedy made major headlines again last August when he dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump. While Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy – who were both assassinated in the 1960s – Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders due in part to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.
Trump announced soon after the November election that he would nominate Kennedy to his Cabinet to run HHS.
Kennedy, whose outspoken views on Big Pharma and the food industry have also sparked controversy, has said he aims to shift the focus of the agencies he would oversee toward promotion of a healthy lifestyle, including overhauling dietary guidelines, taking aim at ultra-processed foods and getting to the root causes of chronic diseases.
"Our country is not going to be destroyed because we get the marginal tax rate wrong. It is going to be destroyed if we get this issue wrong," Kenendy said Thursday as he pointed to chronic diseases. "And I am in a unique position to be able to stop this epidemic."
With Republicans controlling the Senate by a 53-47 majority, Kennedy can only afford to lose the support of three GOP senators if Democrats unite against his confirmation on the floor of the chamber.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-health-secretary-nominee-rfk-jr-clears-senate-finance-confirmation-vote