WASHINGTON, DC – The US Senate on Thursday voted to confirm Robert F Kennedy Jr as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services – with most Republicans setting aside concerns about his long record of vaccine hesitancy as well as skepticism of scientific research on infectious diseases. 

Republic Senator Mitch McConnell, himself a polio survivor, cast the sole Republic vote against Kennedy, a former Democrat, turned independent who then aligned himself with Donald Trump in the final stages of his campaign. Some 47 other senators –all Democrats – voted against his confirmation.

Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, has for decades been the face of a vocal anti-vaxxer movement claiming that even the polio vaccine had killed more people than it had saved. 

But in the past months, he has re-entered America’s political consciousness with his promise “to make America healthy again (MAHA).” After a failed bid for president as an independent, Kennedy joined Donald Trump’s campaign. President Trump vowed to let Kennedy “go wild” on healthcare. 

With his MAHA refrain, Kennedy quickly gained his own national following with his vow to “put the health of Americans back on track,” citing America’s growing chronic disease rates.  During Senate confirmation  hearings last month, he did not entirely renounce his anti-vax views, but said that he would not curtail Americans’ access to vaccines. 

While many of Kennedy’s critics have said that while his interest in addressing the triple American crises of obesity, mental health and substance abuse, is welcome, his reluctance to apply scientific solutions to infectious diseases could threaten Americans’ health very immediately – particularly if a virus like H5N1 avian flu, which has infected millions of poultry and dairy cattle across the United States, spins out of control.

Speaking just before the vote on Thursday, Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), called Kennedy “of the least qualified people” to ensure America’s health. In his final appeal to colleagues, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) also warned that a vote for Kennedy could spell the end of Medicare for older Americans and healthcare coverage for American children – as the Kennedy would not stand in the way of Trump administration plans to slash funding for long standing entitlement programs.

Overseeing a $1.7 trillion agency 

As head of HHS, Kennedy would oversee a $1.7 trillion agency that manages domestic Medicare and Medicaid programs, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The latter three not only manage public health but also play a major role in funding and supporting scientific research that has made the US a leader worldwide in the development of new treatments, medicines and vaccines for a range of conditions. 

That leadership role is now threatened with a string of recent Trump administration actions that have seen the muzzling of CDC domestic and foreign scientific exchanges as well as public health communications, and just last week, an order imposing severe cuts on NIH grants. 

Kennedy, has nonetheless pledged to cut the NIH workforce by some 600 people– while turning his attention to chronic diseases.

“I’m gonna say to NIH scientists: God bless you all,” Kennedy said in 2023 to a crowd of supporters during his presidential bid. “Thank you for public service. We’re going to give infectious disease a break for about eight years.”

Days of grueling hearings 

Kennedy’s confirmation came after a series of grueling Senate hearings last week, and on Wednesday, a late-night debate over Kennedy’s controversial statements on vaccines, abortion, and other issues.  

In Wednesday’s debate, a long lineup of senate Democrats implored their fellow Republicans on the other side of the aisle to vote ‘no’ on the nomination, which they said could set Americans’ public health back generations. 

“I don’t know if this is going to mark one of the most important public health moments in American history, but I can’t think of another time where we actually have the technology, we have the medicine, we have the science, we have the distribution system. We have the public infrastructure to keep people safe, and we just decide by a vote of 53 to 47 to make people unsafe,” said Brian Schatz, Democrat from Hawaii, speaking about how Kennedy’s anti-vaccine activism in Samoa in 2019 led to the deaths of 83 children from a measles epidemic.

“He’s not talking about whether or not it’s appropriate to require masks in public – which  Democrats and Republicans are still arguing about. He’s talking about stuff like, if you’re a parent, and now you don’t know whether when your kid goes to school, they’ve reached herd immunity stuff that goes way, way, generations back,” he said, referring to measles, polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases. “So if you think it’s a good idea to leave all of these diseases in the rear view mirror, then this is a very very bad person to be running the Department of HHS.”

Cervical cancer vaccine at risk 

Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, pointed to Kennedy’s refusal to renounce past statements questioning the safety of the HPV vaccine that protects women against cervical cancer – as well as his financial interest in ongoing litigation over the vaccine’s side effects, as just one example of Kennedy’s “concerning” stances. 

The vaccine, “has become routine for young people about 20 years ago,  and since then, it has successfully cut cervical cancer rates into just a fraction of what they were before the drug came to market,” Wyden noted. 

But when queried about his stake in the lawsuits during the first Senate hearings in late January,  “he refused to answer questions about his 10% stake in any settlement agreements – instead passing them off to his son.  He refused to recuse himself from taking any actions that might affect his family’s financial interest,” Wyden said. 

At the hearings, Kennedy said he’d give up his 10% share in the litigation to his son.

 “All of this adds up to a future HHS secretary who stands to profit off undermining this vaccine, and the result raised cervical cancer rates, to quote my Republican colleague, Senator Cassidy, a physician, Mr. Kennedy is financially vested in finding fault with vaccines.”

Research support in question

Other Democrats expressed concerns about how Kennedy’s appointment would affect the US biomedical research – as well as public health. 

“HHS plays a critical role in overseeing Medicare, overseeing Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act,” said Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico.

“But HHS also supports the medical research that helps us to develop the next vaccine, prevent the next pandemic and find cures to cancer and chronic diseases like diabetes. We have already seen President Trump, Elon Musk and his DOGE minions target scientific and medical research at agencies like the National Institutes of Health. 

“Just last week, we saw them announce an estimated $4 billion cut for health research at universities across the nation, including an estimated $17 million impact at the University of New Mexico alone. And just like many of the unilateral and illegal actions of this emboldened Trump administration. This one received a temporary halt from the federal judge. 

“But whether this particular attack holds up in court or not, the Trump administration’s intention is clear, dramatic cuts to medical research into treatment cures that countless Americans are depending on to save their lives. Mr. Kennedy plans to lead this effort and even to expand on it.”

Kennedy floats different vaccine schedule for African Americans

Angela Alsobrooks, D-Maryland also expressed alarm at Kennedy’s remarks to the effect that Black Americans needed a different vaccine schedule than their White counterparts – a contention that she noted had been debunked by the very scientists that Kennedy had cited in support of his claims. 

“Just three years ago, Kennedy said, and I quote, ‘we should not be giving black people the  same vaccine schedule that’s given to whites because their immune system is better than ours. 

“When I asked him this question, Mr. Kennedy referenced a study…. he assured me….  that, indeed, certain races required a different vaccine schedule. That was a lie. In fact, the study’s own authors stated the data doesn’t support a change in vaccine schedule based on race. Mr. Kennedy’s response was damning and his response was dangerous.

“Black children already have lower vaccinations than their peers,” noted Alsobrooks. “That is why I said, your claims on this issue were dangerous.”

Polio survivor lone Republican to vote ‘nay’

 

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While a number of leading Republican senators pushed back on Kennedy’s anti-vax and anti-research statements in the lead-up to today’s vote, 52 Republicans voted for the nominee, including Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA). 

John Fetterman, a Democrat for Pennsylvania, who earlier had spoke favorably about Kennedy’s views on chronic disease, sided with party colleagues against the nominee. 

The sole exception was Senator Mitch McConnell, who had spoken out against Kennedy’s claims about the side effects of the polio vaccine earlier in the confirmation process. McConnells’  childhood battle against polio before the development of the vaccine made him particularly sensitive to Kennedy’s debunked rhetoric claiming that vaccines cause autism. 

McConnell released a statement after the vote, saying “I’m a survivor of childhood polio. In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles.

“Individuals, parents, and families have a right to push for a healthier nation and demand the best possible scientific guidance on preventing and treating illness. But a record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts.

Opening statements centered on healthcare access

Thursday’s final statements centered on healthcare access. 

“On issue after issue, Mr. Kennedy has demonstrated a profound lack of knowledge at best, and deeply dangerous views at worst,” said Senator Wyden (R-OR) in opening statements. “Mr. Kennedy was given ample opportunity to share how he would improve these programs [Medicare and Medicaid], lower costs, save taxpayers money, and improve care. Instead, he showed a complete lack of basic understanding of Medicare and how it functions.”

“Republicans, with Donald Trump at the helm, are steering this country towards a healthcare cliff.” Wyden then accused Republican colleagues of plans to take away Medicare and Medicaid.

Mike Crapo (R-ID) countered that the Senate debates late last night were about securing the border, not about taking away Medicare. He defended Kennedy’s past anti-vaccine statements, saying that the secretary “just wants to see that the research on them [vaccines] is done, and done well.”

Republicans praise his emphasis on chronic diseases 

Throughout the two week confirmation process, Senate Republicans praised Kennedy’s  emphasis on addressing the chronic disease burden in the US, and expanding rural health care access. “Mr Kennedy, you represent a voice for an inspiring coalition of Americans who are deeply committed to improving the health and well-being of our nation,” said committee chair Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). Crapo continued his praise for Kennedy in the opening statements prior to the vote.  

But others questioned his shifting stance on abortion, vaccines, and food policy, accusing Kennedy of switching his views for political and monetary gain.

As founder of the non-profit Children’s Health Defense, Kennedy has repeatedly cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of childhood vaccinations, and his organization continues to push the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism. 

Even so, Kennedy insisted in the hearings that he was not “anti-vaccine”, and that he merely supports more testing and safety studies.

“News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. Well, I am neither; I am pro-safety … All of my kids are vaccinated, and I believe vaccines have a critical role in healthcare,” said Kennedy in his opening statement in Senate hearings in late January. 

A chance to “make America healthy again”

At the same time, he said he’d find new ways to tackle high drug prices, and address the root causes of America’s obesity and addiction epidemics with healthier foods and more mental health services – messages that clearly resonated with many senators.

As part of that, he has also pledged  to tackle unhealthy processed foods to “make America healthy again” – as well as confronting big Pharma and high drug prices – messages that clearly resonated with many senators.

Kennedy also described how his experience as an environmental lawyer working with hunters,  fisherman and farmers along the Hudson River had sensitized him to the health impacts of pesticides and environmental pollutants early in his career. 

“Something is poisoning the American people and we know that the primary culprits are our changing food supply, highly processed foods,” he said, citing the unusually high proportion of obese people in the US in comparison to other developed nations, something that he called an “existential threat”.

He stressed that the government needed to support a transition away from agriculture dependent on heavy chemical inputs to “regenerative” agriculture to support healthier food production.

But it’s unclear how much leeway he’d really have to move such a massive agenda in the new Trump administration – which is deeply indebted to big food and the pharma industry for supporting Trump’s election campaign.

Last updated 13 February 2025.

Image Credits: Associated Press, Economic Times.