Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing for his pending confirmation on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Kennedy survived back-to-back combustible Senate confirmation hearings late last month, when Trump's nominee to lead 18 powerful federal agencies that oversee the nation's food and health faced plenty of verbal fireworks over past controversial comments, including his repeated claims in recent years linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.
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-19 vaccine for children.
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With Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee voting not to advance Kennedy, the spotlight was on Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a physician and chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).
Cassidy issued a last minute endorsement before the committee level vote, giving Kennedy a party-line 14-13 victory to advance his confirmation to the full Senate.
RFK Jr. and Trump split image (Getty Images)
Earlier this week, another Republican senator who had reservations regarding Kennedy's confirmation announced support for the nominee.
"After extensive public and private questioning and a thorough examination of his nomination, I will support Robert F. Kennedy Jr.," GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced on Tuesday.
Another Republican who was on the fence, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, also voted to advance Kennedy's nomination.
Murkowski noted that she continues "to have concerns about Mr. Kennedy’s views on vaccines and his selective interpretation of scientific studies," but that the nominee "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."
Former longtime Senate GOP leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, a major proponent of vaccines, also voted to advance Kennedy's nomination.
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.
The push is part of his "Make America Healthy Again" campaign.
"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," Kennedy said as he pointed to chronic diseases. "And I am in a unique position to be able to stop this epidemic."
Then-former President Donald Trump, right, welcomes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the stage at a campaign rally at the Gas South Arena on Oct. 23, 2024 in Duluth, Georgia. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
However, 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.
After months of criticizing him, Trump called Kennedy "a man who has been an incredible champion for so many of these values that we all share."
Trump announced soon after the November election that he would nominate Kennedy to his Cabinet to run HHS.
The final vote on Kennedy's nomination came one day after another controversial pick, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, was confirmed by the Senate in a 52-48 vote.
Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report
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