Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will emphasize that he is not ‘anti-vaccine’ when he appears Wednesday in Congress at the first of two straight days of Senate confirmation hearings.
‘I want to make sure the Committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. Well, I am neither; I am pro-safety,’ Kennedy will say in his opening statement in front of the Senate Finance Committee.
The statement was shared first with Fox News ahead of the appearance by Kennedy, who, if confirmed, would have control over 18 powerful federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
And Kennedy will emphasize he’s not ‘the enemy of food producers. American farms are the bedrock of our culture and national security … I want to work with our farmers and food producers to remove burdensome regulations and unleash American ingenuity.’
The hearing, as well as a Thursday hearing in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (a courtesy hearing as only the Senate Finance Committee will vote on Kennedy’s confirmation), are expected to be contentious because of Kennedy’s controversial vaccine views, including his repeated claims linking vaccines to autism, which have been debunked by scientific research.
Kennedy also served for years as chair or chief legal counsel for Children’s Health Defense, the nonprofit organization he founded that has advocated against vaccines and sued the federal government numerous times, including a challenge over the authorization of the COVID vaccine for children.
After Trump’s convincing November presidential election victory, Kennedy has said he won’t ‘take away anybody’s vaccines.’
And in his opening statement at his confirmation hearing, Kennedy will spotlight that ‘all of my kids are vaccinated, and I believe vaccines have a critical role in healthcare.’
But he will also say, ‘In my advocacy, I have disturbed the status quo by asking uncomfortable questions. Well, I won’t apologize for that. We have massive health problems in this country that we must face honestly.’
HHS is a massive federal department, with approximately 90,000 people and an annual budget of roughly $1.7 trillion. And Kennedy has said he wants to shift the focus of the agencies he would oversee toward promotion of a healthy lifestyle and the root causes of chronic diseases, which has garnered some bipartisan support in Congress.
Kennedy has said he would aim to overhaul dietary guidelines and take aim at ultra-processed foods, among other initiatives.
‘American farms are the bedrock of our culture and national security,’ Kennedy is expected to say in his opening statement. ‘I want to work with our farmers and food producers to remove burdensome regulations and unleash American ingenuity.’
He will warn that ‘the United States has worse health than any other developed nation, yet we spend far more on healthcare — at least double; and in some cases, triple.’
And he will ‘thank President Trump for entrusting me to deliver on his promise to make America healthy again.’
‘Should I be so privileged to be confirmed, we will make sure our tax dollars support healthy foods. We will scrutinize the chemical additives in our food supply. We will remove the financial conflicts of interest in our agencies. We will create an honest, unbiased, science-driven HHS, accountable to the President, to Congress, and to the American people. We will reverse the chronic disease epidemic and put the nation back on the road to health,’ Kennedy is expected to say.
The 71-year-old Kennedy, the longtime environmental activist and crusader who is the scion of the nation’s most storied political dynasty, launched a long-shot campaign for the Democrat presidential nomination against then-President Biden in April 2023. But six months later, he switched to an independent run for the White House.
Kennedy made major headlines again last August when he dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump. While Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his late uncle, former President John F. Kennedy – who were both assassinated in the 1960s – Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders due in part to his high-profile vaccine skepticism.
Trump announced soon after the November election that he would nominate Kennedy to his Cabinet to run HHS.
Opposition to Kennedy’s nomination has been fierce, with advocacy groups running ad campaigns urging senators to vote against his confirmation.
Kennedy, in his opening statement, will ‘thank my wife Cheryl, who is with us here today; and all the members of my large extended family, for the love that they have so generously shared. Ours has always been a family devoted to public service, and I look forward to continuing that legacy.’
But many members of the Kennedy family were very vocal in their opposition to his primary challenge against Biden as well as his independent White House run.
And on the eve of his confirmation hearing, his well-known cousin, Caroline Kennedy, sent a letter to senators on Tuesday that charged Kennedy as one who ‘preys on the desperation of parents and sick children’ and whose actions ‘have cost lives.’
She seemed to be referring to Kennedy’s connection to a measles outbreak in 2019 in the Pacific Island nation of Samoa, where 83 people died.
Among those vocal in their opposition to Kennedy is Democrat Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii, a former emergency room physician who traveled to Samoa to help treat the deadly measles outbreak, including vaccinating tens of thousands of individuals.
‘Our people deserve a Health and Human Services Secretary who champions science, supports vaccines, and is committed to lowering costs while safeguarding health care access,’ the governor said in a statement. ‘Mr. Kennedy’s lack of experience raises serious concerns about the future of critical programs like Medicare and Medicaid.’
It’s not just Democrats who have issues with Kennedy.
Social conservative Republicans aiming to curtail abortion rights take issue with his past comments in support of abortion rights.
On the eve of the confirmation hearing, former Vice President Mike Pence’s Advancing American Freedom public advocacy group launched a modest ad campaign opposing Kennedy based on his abortion views.
‘We need leadership that defends life and protects the most vulnerable—not radical policies that undermine our values,’ the group wrote in a social media post.
Kennedy met with senators again on Tuesday, on the eve of his confirmation hearing, but didn’t take shouted questions from reporters.
But veteran Trump administration official Katie Miller told Fox News Digital that Kennedy’s ‘prepared and excited’ for the hearings.