during his hearing, RFK Jr. walked back on his earlier statements on vaccines and tried to assure senators that he supports childhood vaccinations|Gage Skidmore|CC BY-SA 2.0

Robert F Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick for health secretary, faced the Senate Finance Committee yesterday in his first of the two-day confirmation hearing.

Senators questioned him for 3.5 hours on his vaccine comments, his stance on abortion, and onesies.

As the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), which employs ~90,000 people and has an annual budget of $1.7 trillion, RFK Jr. will oversee America’s health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, Medicare and Medicaid.

RFK Jr. has been a vocal critic of the US health system. An environmental lawyer by profession, he has advocated against polio and children’s vaccines, often linking them to autism.

However, during his hearing, RFK Jr. walked back on his earlier statements on vaccines and tried to assure senators that he supports childhood vaccinations. He said, “The only thing I want is good science.” He also deflected on issues like Medicare drug pricing and Medicaid cuts. 

Senator Bernie Sanders also questioned Kennedy on onesies that an anti-vax non-profit, Children’s Health Defense sells, with the text “unvaxxed unafraid.”

RFK Jr. founded the non-profit.

Regarding his statements on abortion, Kennedy said he believes that it should be decided by individual states. RFK Jr. repeatedly pledged to follow Trump’s directives on most issues.

Several Democrats questioned Kennedy’s management experience and raised concerns about past conspiracy theories, including his suggestion that Lyme disease was a bioweapon.

Corporate America and RFK Jr.
Trump’s pick has long been critical of Big Food and Big Pharma, which makes corporations skeptical of his nomination.

Big Pharma is not very keen on him leading HHS. After his nomination announcement by the president, major pharmaceutical stocks, including Novo Nordisk, Pfizer and Moderna, tanked.

RFK Jr. is also keen on reducing chemicals in farming and ultra-processed food that Americans consume.

What’s next?
RFK Jr.’s fate hinges on Senate Republicans, as he can only afford to lose three votes unless Democrats back him. Today, he has a hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.