Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is progressing through the nomination process to become the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), a position that has a significant impact on health policy and administration in the US. Kennedy's career focus has mostly been on environmental protection and litigation against pollutants, but he is also known for controversial anti-vaccine advocacy and leadership within organizations like Children's Health Defense.
Following the hearings, the Senate committee took a vote on whether to advance his nomination. The Senate Finance Committee voted 14-13 to advance his nomination to the full Senate. Senator Bill Cassidy played a crucial role in advancing his nomination. Cassidy has been concerned about Kennedy's past anti-vaccine rhetoric but decided to vote in favor of advancing Kennedy after receiving certain commitments from him and the Trump administration. Kennedy and the Trump administration have said that they will keep the existing vaccine approval and safety monitoring systems instead of creating separate ones and ensure that the CDC's statements on vaccine safety will stay as they were. The full Senate vote is likely to happen in the next week or so.
Kennedy has a well-documented history of controversial statements, particularly regarding vaccines. He has repeatedly promoted the theory that vaccines are linked to autism, although this stance has been widely criticized and discredited by scientific research. His organization, Children's Health Defense, has been involved in several legal actions against vaccine mandates.
However, during his hearings, Kennedy has attempted to position himself as "pro-safety" rather than anti-vaccine. He has promised a collaborative working relationship with the Senate and to uphold certain public health standards if confirmed. He continues to contradict his prior claims about vaccines and many senators have raised concerns about the potential impacts of his views on public health policy.
Sources:
NPR - Trump picks RFK Jr. to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services
ABC - RFK Jr. passes key Senate panel vote to advance health secretary nomination
NPR - RFK Jr., Trump's health secretary pick, grilled about vaccines and abortion
ABC - Fact-checking RFK Jr.'s claims on vaccines, pesticides at confirmation hearing
AP - Takeaways from RFK Jr.'s first confirmation hearing as Trump's nominee for health secretary
Fierce Healthcare - Senate Finance Committee endorses RFK Jr. for HHS Secretary in 14-13 vote
6 comments:
I'm not too sure what RFK Jr.'s stances are on other issues besides vaccination, and seeing (or hearing I guess) that he most likely doesn't have a strong opinion on other topics, he'll probably fold to the Republican party and in those respects align with their values -- which seem to be anti-abortion, wanting to reduce Medicaid, and not at all trying to bring back some sort of healthcare to all. With that being said however, RFK Jr. (to me at least, and which you highlighted in your article) is only notable because of his immense skepticism towards vaccinations.
With that being said, and Cassidy receiving commitments from the Trump administration, I don't exactly foresee that relationship holding up -- Trump and his administration have the power to easily violate that commitment with little to no way for Senator Cassidy to retaliate; Trump can easily take away his platform and support (by alleging some gross violation) and as such, I am pretty cynical that the 'commitments' made will be committed too, especially when there is no check on whether the 'commitments' actually happen.
Are those so-called 'commitments' in the room with us right now?
I find it very worrying that it seems that RFK is willing to compromise his beliefs at a whim. Disregarding the blatantly false anti-vax things that he has said, I am worried that he will simply be yet another yes man for Trump, which is especially worrying since what happened during Covid and Trump's blatantly false statements about it that were dangerous. The Secretary of Health needs to be able to stand up to Trump and provide actual scientifically sound decisions, something I am not confident RFK can do. Just like what Alex Zhao said, I am not very confident in the assurances RFK has given regarding his vaccination positions. Ultimately this just seems like an another standard terrible move by Trump.
Kennedy's nomination for HHS Secretary is definitely controversial, especially because of his history with vaccine misinformation. Even though he's now claiming to be "pro-safety" rather than anti-vaccine, it's hard to ignore the fact that he's spent years pushing theories that have been widely discredited. Although it's promising that Kennedy and the Trump administration have committed to keeping the current vaccine safety system, major public concern about how his views could impact public health policies is understandable. Based on some more recent news, RFK Jr.'s nomination was confirmed by the Supreme Court on February 13, 2025, and since then Kennedy has launched the "Make America Healthy Again Commission" alongside President Trump, focusing on childhood chronic diseases and other broad health issues. He's also planning big changes to nutrition and health programs, but many (myself included) worry lack of medical experience could actually hurt public health.
For the secretary of health and human services to openly believe very controversial opinions on vaccines, not to mention completely false beliefs, is beyond concerning. This is the person in charge of handling public health and medical emergencies, and yet in the case of the pandemic and the spread of covid-19, he was a part of the ignorant group firmly believing that vaccines are linked to autism; completely false and also not backed up by research. This really makes me question the safety of Americans and how prepared the government will really be to tackle future medical dilemmas, as well as how President Trump is going to behave in the future given his poor decisions that seem to really be adding up at this point. To hire someone like this for such an important position is beyond me.
I think the support for this nomination is a huge wake up call indicator of the republican majority we have in office. I think this explains future decisions where Trump will gain the support he needs to pass certain legislature, and I fear for medical equity in the future. I think having a secretary of health and human services who believes very controversial takes on extremely polarized issues is something to fear. Sure, people can have their own opinions, but there must be some sort of neutrality, or devils advocate standpoint when making decisions for an entire nation.
As an environmental lawyer with zero experiences or education in scientific fields or healthcare, RFK is the least competent choice for HHS Secretary. Public trust in government health programs is already low, especially in recent years from the Covid pandemic, and with someone like Kennedy in office, misinformation over vaccine safety and other health measures would only continue to spread. Also, beyond the incompetence of RFK, his leadership could seriously impact the rest of the people working at the HHS, whether firings or resignations. If qualified experts leave, the long-term effects of this appointment could be disastrous, not just in terms of policy, but in the overall effectiveness and credibility of one of the most critical health agencies in the country.
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