RFK Jr. Just Survived a Key Confirmation Hurdle as Senators Who Grilled Him Vote to Recommend Him for Health Secretary

Mar. 15, 2025

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at his Jan. 29 confirmation hearing with the Senate Finance Committee.Photo:ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.has survived his first major hurdle on the path to becomingDonald Trump’s health secretary, after the Senate Finance Committee narrowly agreed to advance his nomination to the full Senate.

On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the committee responsible for vetting Kennedy voted 14-13 along party lines to recommend his confirmation. The move comes days after he faced skepticism from senators on both sides of the aisle about whether he is fit to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Cheryl Hines accompanies Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to his first Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 29, 2025.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty

Kennedy, 71, wasnominated as the health and human services secretaryon Nov. 14, after Trump had vowed to give the anti-vaccine activist a prominent role in the administration and let him “do whatever he wants” with government health agencies.

Theindependent politician’s nomination was met with bipartisan concerns given his controversial past statements and flip-flopping political views. One day before the confirmation process began, his cousinCaroline Kennedysent a scathing letter to senators that includedseveral allegations about his characterand urged them to oppose his nomination.

During both of his confirmation hearings on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30, senators grilled him over his past and called him out for changing his tune on issues like vaccines and abortion rights.

The 27-member Senate Finance Committee, which has a one-seat Republican majority, held the power to shut down the embattled candidate outright or advance his nomination to the full Senate with a recommendation on how to vote.

Kennedy was easily one of Trump’s riskiest nominations, given his longtime alignment with the Democratic Party, which upset Republicans, and his penchant for conspiracy theories, which earned public backlash from Democrats.

Heading into Tuesday, there was uncertainty about whether Senate Finance Committee members would vote along party lines. Republican Sen.Bill Cassidyand left-leaning independent Sen.Bernie Sanderswere each seen as wild cards, though both ultimately fell in line.

source: people.com