Senate Democrats on Wednesday grilled Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President’s Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, during a contentious confirmation hearing, hitting the former Democrat and independent presidential candidate on past statements supporting abortion access and the belief that chemicals in drinking water could be making more children gay or transgender.
They came prepared with a bevy of transcripts and quotes from Kennedy showing his often-controversial views on health that fall far outside the mainstream.
Some, including Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), have appeared open to confirming Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer with a long history of vaccine skepticism.
Wednesday’s aggressive line of questioning from Finance Committee members Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) showed progressive senators want their party to be united against Kennedy’s confirmation.
“I do think we have a chance,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) told reporters Wednesday ahead of Kennedy’s hearing. “It’s very unclear what will happen next in terms of Republican votes, but I believe — I believe, I don’t know — that Democrats will be united, and I think we can defeat this nomination, not for partisan reasons, not because I particularly want to poke the president in the eye on this one, but because I truly believe that if [Kennedy] runs HHS, that millions will die.”
In a letter to senators on Tuesday, Caroline Kennedy, former President John F. Kennedy’s daughter, called the HHS nominee a “predator” who lacks the “relevant government, financial, management or medical experience” needed to run the nation’s health agencies.
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Vaccines
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vehemently denied being against vaccines during Wednesday’s hearing, despite his long history of casting speculation on vaccine efficacy.
“I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish, and nobody called me anti-fish,” said Kennedy. “And I believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care. All of my kids are vaccinated.”
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the committee’s ranking member, pushed back against Kennedy’s pro-vaccine claims, citing a 2023 podcast interview in which he said “no vaccine” is safe and effective.
Kennedy claimed podcast host Lex Fridman had interrupted his response.
“He asked me, ‘Are there vaccines that are safe and effective?’ And I said to him, ‘Some of the live virus vaccines are,’ and I said, ‘There are no vaccines that are safe and effective,’ and I was going to continue, ‘for every person,’” Kennedy said.
Wyden also pushed back on Kennedy’s defense that all his children are vaccinated, noting that the HHS nominee had previously expressed regret over that action.
“Mr. Kennedy, all of these things cannot be true. So, are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro-vaccine, or did you lie on all those podcasts?” Wyden asked.
Transgender children
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) asked Kennedy about comments Kennedy made on his own podcast that pesticides could be causing more children to identify as gay or transgender.
“I never said that,” Kennedy said Wednesday, responding to Bennet.
In a June 2022 episode of “The RFK Jr. Podcast,” Kennedy said endocrine disruptors — chemicals that interfere with the endocrine system’s regular functioning — found in drinking water have had “impacts that people suspect are very different than in ages past about sexual identification among children and sexual confusion, gender confusion.”
Individuals can encounter endocrine-disrupting chemicals through pesticides, but there is no evidence connecting them to being gay or transgender.
The conspiracy theory has picked up steam in recent years, with support from figures like Kennedy, far-right radio host Alex Jones and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
Abortion
Both Hassan and Sanders pressed Kennedy on his past support for abortion access, despite the fact he has agreed with Trump’s belief that “every abortion is a tragedy.” Both lawmakers recalled a 2023 campaign visit Kennedy made to New Hampshire, where he described himself as “pro-choice.”
“You have clearly stated in the past that bodily autonomy is one of your core values. The question is, do you stand for that value or not?” Hassan asked. “When was it that you decided to sell out the values you’ve had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump?”
Sanders cited Kennedy’s apparent “U-turn” on abortion as a possible reason to not have “constant confidence in your consistency.”
“Senator, I believe, and I’ve always believed, that every abortion is a tragedy,” Kennedy said.
While still campaigning for the Democratic nomination, Kennedy did appear to falter in his stance on abortion, saying publicly that he would sign a 15-week or 21-week abortion ban. His campaign later said Kennedy had “misunderstood” the question, blaming the noisiness of the venue.
Antidepressants
Kennedy has previously suggested a possible link between antidepressants and school shootings.
“There’s no time in American history or human history that kids were going to schools and shooting their classmates. It happened, you know, it really started happening conterminous with the introduction of these drugs, with Prozac and the other drugs,” Kennedy said in an interview with Bill Maher.
Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) directly quoted this interview when questioning the nominee. Kennedy tried to distance himself from that remark, arguing that he had also questioned whether video games and social media could also be linked to school shootings.
“Let’s just think about this for a minute, because you’re going to be — should you be confirmed — you would be responsible for CMS, which provides mental and behavioral health care to millions of Americans,” said Smith, referring to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
“Close to 40 percent of folks on Medicaid have a behavioral health condition, and you would be part of this administration that would be looking to cut Medicaid,” she added. “So, Mr. Kennedy, these statements that you’ve made linking antidepressants to school shootings, they reinforce the stigma that people who experience mental health every day face.”
When asked by Smith if he believes antidepressants cause school shootings, Kennedy said, “I don’t think anybody can answer that question. And I didn’t answer that question.”
