The Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday as secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in President Donald Trump‘s Cabinet.
The Senate controlled by the Republicans voted almost completely past party lines to confirm Kennedy. The last confrontation about his controversial nomination was in movement use hours earlier, after a new party line voice on Wednesday afternoon that started to tap the clock in the direction of the confirmation role.
Kennedy, the well-known vaccine skeptic and crusader of the environment who walked to the White House in 2024 before he ended his bid and approved Trump, needed a simple majority to be confirmed by the Senate.
Senator Mitch McConnell from Kentucky was the only Republican who voted against the nomination of Kennedy. McConnell, the former old Gop -Saat leader, suffered from polio as a child and is an important supporter of vaccines.
Trump Health Secretary Nominee RFK Jr. Survives heated hearings
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the nominee of President Donald Trump to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies during a Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions for his pending confirmation on Capitol Hill on Thursday 30 January , 2025 in Washington, DC (AP Photo/Rod Lambey, Jr.)
Kennedy survived Back-to-back flammable senate mounting hearings at the end of last month, when the nominee of Trump 18 led 18 powerful federal agencies that supervised the food and the health of the nation had to deal with many verbal fireworks on controversial comments from the past, including his repeated repeated claims in recent years Couple vaccines To autism, who have been invalidated by scientific research.
During the hearings, the Democrats also brought the service of Kennedy to the attention for years as chairman or chief advisor for the health of children, the non -profit organization he has founded against vaccines and the federal government has complained many times Covid-19-vaccine For children.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Live on Fox News ‘The Ingraham Angle’ 19:00 et tonight tonight
With Democrats in the Senate Financing Committee that votes not to promote Kennedy, the spotlight stood up Sen. Bill CassidyR-La., A doctor and chairman of the Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (help).
Cassidy gave a last-minute approval before the vote of the committee level, giving Kennedy a party line 14-13 victory to promote his confirmation to the entire Senate.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Center, the candidate of President Donald Trump to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services, talks to committee chairman Bill Cassidy, R-la., After his testimony during a senate committee for health, education, Labor and Pensions hearing for his pending confirmation on Capitol Hill on Thursday, January 30, 2025 in Washington, DC (AP Photo/Rod Lambey, Jr.)
During the Kennedy confirmation hearing, Cassidy had emphasized that “your past of undermining trust in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments left me”, in doubt about his support.
After talking again with the candidate, Cassidy rattled a long list of obligations that Kennedy has made to him, including quarterly hearings for the help committee; meetings several times a month; That aid committee can choose representatives on councils or committees that revise the safety of vaccine; And a cancellation period of 30 days to the committee, plus a hearing, for any changes to vaccine safety assessments.
“These obligations, and my expectation that we can have a great working relationship to make America healthy again, is the basis of my support,” the senator said.
RFK Jr. and Trump Split image (Getty Images)
Earlier this week, another Republican Senator announced that had reservations about the confirmation of Kennedy, support for the nominee.
“After extensive public and private questions and a thorough investigation of his nomination, I will support Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,” Gop Senator Susan Collins announced Tuesday.
Another Republican who was on the fence, Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, also voted to promote the nomination of Kennedy.
Murkowski noted that she will continue to worry about Mr Kennedy’s views on vaccines and his selective interpretation of scientific studies “, but that the nominated” has entered into countless obligations to me and my colleagues, promise to work with the congress to work for Public access to access to the congress to work with the information congress and to base recommendations from vaccine on data-driven, evidence-based and medical healthy research. “
Former old Senate Gop leader Senator Mitch McConnell, an important proponent of vaccines, also voted to promote the nomination of Kennedy.
Kennedy, whose pronounced views on Big Pharma And the food industry has also given rise to controversy, said that he is putting the focus of the agencies he would supervise the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, including the revision of food guidelines, aimed at ultra-processed foods and reaching the Grond causes of chronic diseases.
The Push is part of his “Make America Healthy Again Rety” campaign.
“Our country will not be destroyed because we are wrong to get the marginal tax rate wrong. It will be destroyed if we are wrong,” Kennedy said, pointing to chronic diseases. “And I am in a unique position to stop this epidemic.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at a campaign event for this independent presidential bid, on 1 May 2024 in the New York City Borough or Brooklyn. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
The 71-year-old scion of the most legendary political dynasty of the nation launched a long-term campaign for the Democratic Presidential nomination against the then President Joe Biden in April 2023. Six months later he switched to an independent run for the White House.
Trump regularly bothered Kennedy during his independent presidential bid and accused him of being a “radical links liberal” and a “democratic plant”.
Kennedy shot back and claimed in a social media post that Trump’s Jabs against him “were barely coherent barrage of wild and inaccurate claims.”
The then Vormer president Donald Trump welcomes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. On stage during a campaign meeting in the Gas South Arena on October 23, 2024 in Duluth, Georgia. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty images)
Kennedy, however, again reached large headlines last August when he dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump.
While Kennedy had long since identified and repeatedly identified his deceased father, former senator Robert F. Kennedy, and his deceased uncle, former President John F. Kennedy – who were both murdered in the 1960s, were built in the sixties – In recent years, Kennedy built relationships with relationships with by far leaders, partly because of his controversial skepticism of vaccine.
After criticizing him for months, Trump called Kennedy “a man who has been an incredible champion for so many of these values ​​that we all share.”
Trump announced shortly after the November elections that he would nominate Kennedy at his cabinet to lead HHS.
The final vote on the nomination of Kennedy came one day after another controversial pick, director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, was confirmed by the Senate in a voice of 52-48.
Chad Pergram from Fox News has contributed to this report
