Senate Democrats on Wednesday grilled Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President’s Trump’s choose for Well being and Human Companies (HHS) secretary, throughout a contentious affirmation listening to, hitting the previous Democrat and impartial presidential candidate on previous statements supporting abortion entry and the idea that chemical substances in consuming water might be making extra youngsters homosexual or transgender.
They got here ready with a bevy of transcripts and quotes from Kennedy exhibiting his often-controversial views on well being that fall far outdoors the mainstream.
Some, together with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), have appeared open to confirming Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer with an extended historical past 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.) confirmed progressive senators need their occasion to be united in opposition to Kennedy’s affirmation.
“I do think we have a chance,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) instructed reporters Wednesday forward of Kennedy’s listening to. “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, known as the HHS nominee a “predator” who lacks the “relevant government, financial, management or medical experience” wanted to run the nation’s well being companies.
Dwell updates: RFK Jr. faces powerful questions; Lutnick grilled on tariffs
Vaccines
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vehemently denied being in opposition to vaccines throughout Wednesday’s listening to, regardless of his lengthy historical past of casting hypothesis on vaccine efficacy.
“I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish, and nobody called me anti-fish,” mentioned 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 rating member, pushed again in opposition to Kennedy’s pro-vaccine claims, citing a 2023 podcast interview during which he mentioned “no vaccine” is secure and efficient.
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 mentioned.
Wyden additionally pushed again on Kennedy’s protection that every one his youngsters are vaccinated, noting that the HHS nominee had beforehand expressed remorse over that motion.
“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 requested.
Transgender youngsters
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) requested Kennedy about feedback Kennedy made on his personal podcast that insecticides might be inflicting extra youngsters to determine as homosexual or transgender.
“I never said that,” Kennedy mentioned Wednesday, responding to Bennet.
In a June 2022 episode of “The RFK Jr. Podcast,” Kennedy mentioned endocrine disruptors — chemical substances that intervene with the endocrine system’s common functioning — present in consuming water have had “impacts that people suspect are very different than in ages past about sexual identification among children and sexual confusion, gender confusion.”
People can encounter endocrine-disrupting chemical substances by pesticides, however there is no such thing as a proof connecting them to being homosexual or transgender.
The conspiracy principle has picked up steam lately, with assist from figures like Kennedy, far-right radio host Alex Jones and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
Abortion
Each Hassan and Sanders pressed Kennedy on his previous assist for abortion entry, regardless of the very fact he has agreed with Trump’s perception that “every abortion is a tragedy.” Each lawmakers recalled a 2023 marketing campaign go to Kennedy made to New Hampshire, the place 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 requested. “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 obvious “U-turn” on abortion as a attainable motive to not have “fixed confidence in your consistency.”
“Senator, I believe, and I’ve always believed, that every abortion is a tragedy,” Kennedy mentioned.
Whereas nonetheless campaigning for the Democratic nomination, Kennedy did seem to falter in his stance on abortion, saying publicly that he would signal a 15-week or 21-week abortion ban. His marketing campaign later mentioned Kennedy had “misunderstood” the query, blaming the noisiness of the venue.
Antidepressants
Kennedy has beforehand steered a attainable hyperlink between antidepressants and college 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 mentioned in an interview with Invoice Maher.
Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) immediately quoted this interview when questioning the nominee. Kennedy tried to distance himself from that comment, arguing that he had additionally questioned whether or not video video games and social media may be linked to high 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,” mentioned Smith, referring to the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Companies (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 requested by Smith if he believes antidepressants trigger faculty shootings, Kennedy mentioned, “I don’t think anybody can answer that question. And I didn’t answer that question.”
