Despite his history indicating he may not be the best fit for the job, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has officially been confirmed as President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary.
RFK Jr.’s appointment came down to a 52-48 Senate vote on Thursday, with Mitch McConnell notably voting ‘No’ and Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voting ‘Yes.’
His confirmation was not seen as a sure thing, as President Trump’s pick to lead the HSS was met with pushback from critics and Democratic politicians in recent weeks.
Many of Kennedy Jr.’s critics have ripped him as an “anti-vaccine” loon in years past. His cousin, former ambassador Caroline Kennedy, is one of those critics, saying in a letter last month that RFK Jr. is “unqualified” to be “in charge of the health of the American people.”
Kennedy Jr. has pushed back on claims he is anti-vaccine and has previously argued for vaccines to be tested with placebo-controlled trials, similar to other medications. Following Trump’s victory in November, Kennedy Jr. said he would not “take away anybody’s vaccines.”
He doubled down on that stance during his recent congressional hearings.
“I want to make sure the committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. Well, I am neither,” RFK Jr. said in his opening statement before the Senate in late January. “I am pro-safety.”
That same hearing — the first of two rounds Kennedy Jr. had to pass before being appointed — was interrupted multiple times by protestors, including one who screamed “You lie!” right after he made his “pro-safety” comment.
Kennedy Jr. was also criticized by Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden earlier this month. The Senators, in a joint letter to Kennedy Jr., said his “involvement and financial interests in vaccine litigation” and his “decades-long career casting doubt about the safety and efficacy of life-saving vaccines” gave them “grave concern” over his ability to lead the HHS.
He has found an unlikely political partner in President Trump, though, who picked the scion of Democratic party royalty to lead the HHS soon after he was elected in November.
Trump at the time said Kennedy Jr. would help “Make America Great and Healthy Again,” adding that Americans had been “crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation and disinformation when it comes to Public Health.”
Kennedy Jr.’s appointment comes a day after another ex-Democrat, Tulsi Gabbard, was made Trump’s National Intelligence Director.
