BBC News
President Donald Trump’s pick for US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, was questioned by senators at his first confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
The post of health secretary is a key federal government position that oversees public health issues, including medical research, food safety and public welfare programmes.
Kennedy, who had been a vocal vaccine sceptic, was asked to explain his past comments on the Covid-19 vaccine and other immunisations. He also was asked about his views on abortion, and his opinions on the US food industry.
His hearing was interrupted by shouting protesters, but he also received loud applause when he promised he would make America healthy again, a slogan used by the new administration.
Here are five takeaways from Kennedy’s first hearing.
Delving into vaccine comments
Throughout the hearing, senators brought up Kennedy’s past comments about vaccination.
A group he ran for eight years, Children’s Health Defense, repeatedly cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of childhood vaccinations, and continues to push the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism.
Kennedy insisted during the hearing that he was not anti-vaccine, and that he merely supports more stringent studies and safety tests for injections.
He said he supports the current childhood vaccination schedule and insisted he was not a conspiracy theorist.
“That’s a pejorative that’s applied to me to keep me from asking difficult questions about powerful interests,” he told senators.
However, they zeroed in on his past comments, such as a quote taken from a 2023 podcast when he said: “I think some of the live virus vaccines are probably averting more problems than they’re causing. There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective.”
He defended himself at the hearing, saying his words were taken out of context and that he was going to go on to say “for all people”. But, Kennedy said, he was interrupted by the host, Lex Fridman, who said: “Those are big words”.
In the podcast interview, Kennedy went on to outline what he called safety problems with several common vaccines, including the polio vaccine, and later called vaccines “inherently unsafe”, apparently quoting former President Ronald Reagan.
Getty ImagesA promise to reverse the ‘chronic disease epidemic’
A key point made by Kennedy during his opening remarks and throughout the hearing was his criticism of processed foods in the US, which he said help drive the country’s obesity epidemic.
He promised to scrutinise chemical additives in food, and said he would work to remove the financial conflicts of interest in US agencies and the food industry.
“We will reverse the chronic disease epidemic and put the nation back on the road to health,” he told the committee.
Asked why he was a big advocate of nutrition-based disease prevention, Kennedy said that this generation has seen an “explosion” in autoimmune and allergic diseases, as well as diabetes.
He later clarified that he does not want to take away access to processed food for Americans.
“If you like a McDonald’s cheeseburger or a Diet Coke – which my boss loves – you should be able to get them,” he said, referencing Trump’s well-known affinity for the American fast-food chain.
Getty Images‘Every abortion is a tragedy,’ Kennedy told senators
Kennedy, who previously stated that he was in favour of abortion rights, was asked about his stance on the issue by both Republican and Democratic senators.
Republican Senator James Lankford asked Kennedy whether he plans to bring back conscience protections for doctors who do not want to carry out the procedure because of their religious or moral beliefs.
Kenney responded by saying that forcing medical providers who believe abortion is murder to carry out the procedure “doesn’t make any sense”.
Michael Bennet, a Democratic senator, then asked Kennedy about his past comments, in which he expressed support for abortion rights and said that governments should not be involved with a woman’s right to choose.
Kennedy started his response by saying: “I believe every abortion is a tragedy.”
He later said he agreed with Trump that access to abortion should be controlled by individual states. Kennedy vowed to put his more liberal views aside, saying, “I serve at the pleasure of the president. I’m going to implement his policies.”
This stance drew scrutiny from Democrats, including senator Maggie Hassan, who accused Kennedy of “selling out” his pro-choice values in order to secure President Trump’s nomination.
A tense back-and-forth with Senator Sanders
Kennedy was asked by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a long-time advocate of universal healthcare, whether he believes the US should “guarantee healthcare to all people as a human right.”
He responded by saying he cannot answer the question so simply.
Kennedy posed a hypothetical situation of a 20-year cigarette smoker with lung cancer, then pondered whether that individual should have the same healthcare access as someone who does not smoke.
The smoker, Kennedy said, would be “taking from the pool”, referencing general health care costs.
Sanders then criticised the pharmaceutical industry, saying that the US pays more than countries in Europe for the same drugs. He asked Kennedy if he was willing to “end that absurdity.”
Kennedy responded by saying: “We should end that disparity”.
Later, Sanders asked whether he supports baby clothes bearing anti-vaccine slogans. Some are sold by Children’s Health Defense, the organisation that Kennedy founded.
“Are you supportive of these onesies?” Sanders asked Kennedy, showing images of them to the rest of the committee.
Kennedy responded that he has no oversight of the organisation and resigned from his position there.
Getty ImagesSome Republicans cheer Kennedy on
As is typical, the nature and tone of the questions often differed depending on which side of the political aisle they were coming from.
Democratic senators largely grilled him on his past anti-vaccine comments, his promotion of misinformation in relation to health issues, and his knowledge on key aspects of the US healthcare system like Medicare and Medicaid.
Some Republicans, however, focused their questions on Kennedy’s advocacy for eradicating chronic disease in children and his criticism of the US food industry.
One Republican senator in particular, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, said that Kennedy was the “answer to his prayers,” and that he was “awesome”.
Johnson himself has been criticised over anti-vaccine misinformation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Wednesday’s hearing was conducted before the Senate’s finance committee. Kennedy faces a second confirmation hearing on Thursday before the health, education, labour and pensions committee, where he will face more questions from senators.
The committees will then vote on his nomination before it can pass to the whole Senate for consideration.
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