Vermont’s senators posed tough questions in confirmation hearings this week for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, a sprawling bureaucracy that oversees the federal Medicare and Medicaid insurance programs among other duties.
After enduring more than three hours of questioning from lawmakers in the Senate finance committee on Wednesday, Kennedy tried to win over senators in a second round of questioning Thursday morning before the Senate health committee.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, who serves on both committees, drew significant national media attention on Wednesday for the props he brought to confront Kennedy during the Finance Committee hearing. He showed two large photos of baby onesies sold by Children’s Health Defense, the nonprofit Kennedy co-founded in 2016, that say, “No Vax, No Problem” and “Unvaxxed, Unafraid.” The nonprofit has been criticized for spreading misinformation about vaccines.
“Are you supportive of these onesies?” Sanders asked.
Kennedy replied, “I’m supportive of vaccines.” He resigned from the Children’s Health Defense in December when President Trump nominated him for the position.
Sanders showed the baby clothes to confront Kennedy with his inconsistent stance on critical health issues, not only regarding vaccines, but also his position on abortion, which has repeatedly changed over the last year.
On Wednesday, Kennedy spoke at length about health issues, including his views on the causes of chronic illnesses, Covid-19 and the proliferation of ultra processed foods. In his opening statement, he told senators that he had been mistakenly labeled as anti-vaccine in the media, and said, “I am pro-safety.”
Kennedy built his career as an environmental lawyer taking on pharmaceutical companies and environmental safety causes. After he ran for president as a Democrat-turned-independent last year, Kennedy embraced the MAGA movement and quickly endorsed Trump in August.
In his remarks, U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt, referenced a letter written by Kennedy’s cousin, Caroline Kennedy, who previously served as U.S. ambassador to Australia and Japan and is the daughter of former President John F. Kennedy. The letter painted a harsh portrait of her cousin, saying, “It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because he himself is a predator.”
“Your cousin in her letter said you’ve always been charismatic, able to attract others through strength or personality, willingness to take risk and break rules. That’s, I guess, an attribute, but it can be a danger,” Welch said. “The question I fundamentally have is whether your willingness to disrupt and maybe break rules is going to be dangerous.”
Welch also mentioned Kennedy’s history with drug use and his concerns about whether Kennedy is stable enough to be in charge of a major organization like the Department of Health and Human Services.
“And that’s compounded by my concern that you don’t have any experience managing a large organization, you don’t have any experience in government,” he said.
Many of the Republicans on the health committee praised Kennedy and questioned the science and the effects of vaccines. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, said, “All this blather about the science says this, and the science is that. No, it doesn’t. The science actually shows that no healthy child in America died from Covid.”
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Ok, also defended Kennedy and suggested that vaccines may, indeed, cause autism. Dozens of peer-reviewed studies have already plumbed that connection and have found no evidence for it.
On Thursday, Sanders confronted Kennedy about his past claim that vaccines may cause autism, saying that dozens of studies worldwide have found no link between vaccines and autism. He asked if Kennedy agreed with these findings. In response, Kennedy said he would review the studies if Sanders provided them.
Sanders, visibly concerned, replied, “That is a very troubling response because the studies are there. Your job was to have looked at those studies as an applicant for this job.”
The committees are expected to vote in coming days on whether to recommend his nomination to the full Senate for a confirmation vote, where Kennedy can only afford to lose three Republican votes if Democrats and independents are united in opposition.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont Senators drill RFK Jr. at Senate committees confirmation hearings.