WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 4, 2025 (UPI) — The Senate Finance Committee voted Tuesday to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s appointment to direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the full Senate.
The committee voted 14-13 along party lines with the Republican majority voting in favor of Kennedy.
The committee grilled Kennedy on Thursday over his long history of anti-vaccine activism and touting conspiracy theories. The hearing began on Capitol Hill at 10 a.m. EST, to determine whether his nomination advances to the Senate floor.
After the vote, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., echoed President Donald Trump‘s remarks on Kennedy, saying he hopes he “goes wild” in the department.
“I hope he goes wild and actually finds a way to reduce the cost of healthcare,” Tillis said. “He is no health professional. In fact, he is the first, I believe since I’ve been alive, who has not been a healthcare professional in a scientific sense.”
Sen. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, said in his opening remarks that Kennedy has gone “above and beyond” in his campaign to be named secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. He called for other members on the committee to vote to confirm.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., used his opening statements to sound the alarm on the “authoritarian regime” that has emerged, led by billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, citing the purge of federal employees and Musk taking control of the federal payment system.
Wyden then recounted Kennedy’s anti-vaccine activism. He said Kennedy was given ample opportunity to take accountability for this last week but instead spent his time “dodging and weaving” questions.
“Just take the Samoa measles outbreak as an example,” Wyden said, recalling Kennedy sowing doubt about the 83 deaths in Samoa in 2019, following his trip to the independent island nation. “Mr. Kennedy told me — ‘We don’t know what was killing them.’
“Just yesterday, colleagues, the director general of health from Samoa called this claim ‘a total fabrication,'” he continued. “Peddling these conspiracy theories as the nation’s chief health officer is going to be deadly for kids across the country.”
Kennedy is among Trump’s nominations to face the most ardent opposition from Democrats. However, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who is a gastroenterologist, also expressed some skepticism about the nomination.
Cassidy, however, wrote on X Tuesday morning that he had “very intense conversations” with Kennedy ahead of the vote that swayed him in favor of advancing his nomination.
“With the serious commitments I’ve received from the administration and the opportunity to make progress on the issues we agree on like healthy foods and a pro-American agenda, I will vote yes,” he wrote.
During last week’s hearing, Cassidy pressed Kennedy to clearly state that the hepatitis B and measles vaccines do not cause autism. Kennedy declined to do so, responding that he would need Cassidy to give him the data that proves this.
Cassidy later told Kennedy he is “struggling” with the nomination out of concern over his opposition to vaccines. He joined the rest of the Republicans on the committee to approve the nomination.
Kennedy downplayed his opposition to vaccines and said he will support the childhood vaccine schedule.
