RFK Jr. takes a lot of heat during first confirmation hearing

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced tough questions in his first confirmation hearing as the nominee for U.S. secretary of health and human services. Democratic senators challenged his views on contentious issues such as vaccines and abortion — where he had to defend himself against his own statements. RFK Jr., as he is also known, is a controversial figure, making his confirmation hearing one of the most anticipated. In the lead-up to the hearings, different groups sent out letters opposing his nomination — including his cousin Caroline Kennedy who urged senators to reject his nomination. Others expressed support for him to secure the position. Much of the pushback on Kennedy Jr. is due to his claims that fuel conspiracy theories and misinformation — from linking vaccines to autism to casting doubts on the long-established fact that HIV causes AIDS — and fears that his beliefs would trickle down to the department he is nominated to lead. Sen. Peter Welch from Vermont said: “This is not just about a debate on vaccines. It’s a debate about the qualifications, experience, and priorities as to the person that will head Health and Human Services. And it's not just about what your answers are today or what the questions are. It obviously has a lot to do with your whole record in your whole history.” Vaccines Kennedy Jr.’s claims on vaccines were a key issue for many Democrats. Sen. Ron Wyden from Oregon said if confirmed, Kennedy Jr.’s recommendations will determine what vaccines will be received by the elderly and children alike. But he fears his anti-vaccine conspiracy theories will endanger lives in the country, recounting Kennedy Jr.’s alleged influence that ultimately led to the death of 83 Samoans amid a measles outbreak in 2019. During the outbreak, Kennedy Jr. sent a letter to the Samoan prime minister urging health officials to determine if the outbreak was caused by “inadequate vaccine coverage or alternatively, by a defective vaccine.” There were already vaccine safety concerns in Samoa, and critics said Kennedy Jr. amplified those fears. “He traveled there himself to push his views and pour fuel on the fire of a measles outbreak that began due to low vaccination rates,” Wyden said. “Americans cannot afford to import this experiment to our great nation.” Kennedy Jr. denied his involvement in Samoa’s measles outbreak, saying that when he went to the country, vaccination rates were already low. “I went there to introduce a medical informatics system. I would digitalize records in Samoa and make health delivery much more efficient. I never taught or gave any public statement about vaccines. You cannot find a single Samoan who will say I didn't get a vaccine because of Bobby Kennedy,” he said. Sen. Michael Bennet from Colorado, meanwhile, asked whether he did say that COVID-19 targeted Blacks and Caucasians, but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. “I didn’t say it was deliberately targeted,” Kennedy Jr. responded. Kennedy Jr. also dismissed claims he is against vaccines, saying he’s rather “pro-safety.” He said he believes “that vaccines play a critical role in health care,” and all of his children are vaccinated. Abortion When he was running for president during the last presidential race, Kennedy Jr. said the government should stay out of the abortion issue. During the hearing, a placard quoting him stated: “I’m pro-choice. … I don’t think the government has any business telling people what they can or cannot do with their body.” But he seems to have taken a U-turn on his earlier statements. He told senators that “every abortion is a tragedy” and “states should control abortion.” He also said that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to end federal funding for abortions in the United States and abroad and that he will serve “at the pleasure of the president.” In response, Sen. Maggie Hassan from New Hampshire asked: “Mr. Kennedy, I'm confused. 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? 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?” Kennedy Jr. didn't give a direct answer, repeating his previous statement instead. US CDC If confirmed, Kennedy Jr. will be in charge of a massive government agency with thousands of employees across the U.S. and globally. Agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, include the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, which does important work in detecting, preventing and responding to disease threats. However, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock said he’s disturbed by Kennedy Jr.’s characterization of CDC and its workers, saying he compared them to sexual abusers in the Catholic Church, and compared the work of CDC to Nazi death camps in two separate conferences. Kennedy Jr. had said the latter when discussing the increase in the number of children with autism during a conference in 2013. And in a conference in 2019, he claimed CDC hid the harms of vaccination on children to protect the institution, and compared that to the Catholic Church’s coverup of pedophile scandals, according to a report by Al Jazeera. “Do you stand by those statements that you made in the past, or do you retract those previous statements?” he asked. Kennedy Jr. denied that he made those comparisons, saying “I'm not retracting it. I never said it.” “I was not comparing the CDC to Nazi death camps. I was comparing the injury rate to our children, to other atrocities,” he added. PEPFAR, long COVID, and chronic diseases Kennedy Jr. was clear however about his goals to tackle chronic diseases, though he said he won’t take food away from anybody, including his boss — Trump — who he said loves Diet Coke. He also declared his support for the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, which has been credited for helping save 26 million lives. “I absolutely support PEPFAR, and I will happily work with you to strengthen the program,” he told Sen. John Cornyn from Texas. He committed to prioritizing long COVID research, and to direct funding toward trials and novel research. He also said he would run the HHS with “radical transparency” to regain public trust in public health institutions. Kennedy Jr. has another confirmation hearing on Thursday.