The Senate Committee on Health and Finance has announced the upcoming hearing date for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s bid to become the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Candidates for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will participate in two committee hearings. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (Support) and Senate Committee on Finance. The first hearing will take place next week, Wednesday, before the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees HHS. The HELP Committee, the Senate's lead committee that deals with issues related to health and medicine, will investigate Kennedy on Thursday.
Kennedy's nomination could face opposition, even from Republicans. In particular, Kennedy's views and past statements regarding vaccines have been scrutinized by both GOP and Democratic lawmakers. Additionally, the GOP lawmaker is worried about Kennedy's pro-abortion views, which he has supported in the past, and the potential impact on the agricultural sector.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., center, attends a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque -Pool/Getty Images)
In an interview with “Fox News Sunday” earlier this month, Louisiana GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top lawmaker on the Senate Help Committee, said Kennedy was “wrong” about vaccinations. One example raised was Kennedy's questionable efforts, which he denied, to promote doubts about the efficacy of vaccines during the 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa. These efforts include a letter that Kennedy sent to the country's prime minister as chairman of the Children's Health Defense Council, suggesting that measles vaccines could worsen outbreaks.
In the past, Kennedy has also suggested that vaccines may be linked to autism.
“The scientific research has been done and the results are clear: Vaccines do not cause autism,” Autism Science Foundation President Alison Singer wrote in a statement. Kennedy suggested to journalist John Stossel that such research was “propaganda.”
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Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), left, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services. (Left: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Right: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Kennedy's past pro-abortion views and what he would do to the agricultural sector in his push to make America “healthy again” have raised concerns with some Republicans in the Senate. .
“He's made some statements about pigs and GMO corn and soy. I can't believe he has a problem with that. But if he does, he has a problem with me.” Senate Finance the commission told Semafor.
The senator said following a meeting with conservative Alabama GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a staunchly pro-life lawmaker, that Kennedy agreed with Trump “100%” on abortion and was light on regulating farmers. He said he said he would contact them.
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Some Senate Republicans want answers from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about his agricultural beliefs before confirming him. (Reuters)
“We talked about abortion, and the big thing about abortion is what he's telling everyone.
Fox News Digital reached out to Kennedy's representatives for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
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