Despite slim congressional majorities, RFK Jr. passed key Senate hearings and was confirmed as the second Trump administration’s Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on February 13th. Below is a brief timeline of events, including the hearings, the questioning, and Kennedy’s answers that led to his ultimate confirmation.
January 22nd, 2025
Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-ID) announced that Kennedy would sit for his nomination hearing to become the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on January 29th at 10:00 AM.
January 29th, 2025
Starting on January 29th, Kennedy was relentlessly grilled on topics ranging from vaccines and abortion to plans for further research on food additives and a prospective Medicaid reform.
Kennedy was frequently defensive, especially avoiding questions regarding his prior statements on the safety of vaccines. At one point, the committee pulled out merchandise sold by the Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit founded by Kennedy that is mainly known for spreading vaccine misinformation. When the committee asked if he would take the merchandise down now that he supposedly supports vaccines, Kennedy responded that he no longer has a post within the group.
“There is no reason that any of us should believe that you have reversed the anti-vaccine views you have promoted for 25 years,” said Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH). When Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) recalled RFK’s comparison of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to “Nazi death camps,” Kennedy accused the senators of misconstruing his prior statements. He responded, “Senator, I don’t believe that I ever compared the CDC to Nazi death camps. I support the CDC.” When Warnock asked whether he was retracting his statement, Kennedy said, “I’m not retracting it; I never said it.” Kennedy, a man who has made it his life’s work to spread misinformation about life-saving vaccines, still denies any responsibility for the doubt that his words cause.
Kennedy was asked if he was lying to Congress when he said he was pro-vaccine. The First Amendment does not protect perjury or lying to government officials. If someone in a job on which the lives of millions depend is found lying, we, as a country, have failed. Not only have we failed to adhere to the Constitution, but we have failed to protect the American people.
January 30th, 2025
Kennedy testified before the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Throughout the hearing, Kennedy stated that he would support vaccines if shown data that would back their safety. However, when the committee presented such data, Kennedy countered that he either wasn’t familiar with it or presented other reasons to doubt it.
Kennedy’s statements seemed to trouble Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who knows of young patients in Louisiana suffering from illnesses like Hepatitis B that could have been prevented by vaccines.
Kennedy faced opposition from both sides of the aisle. While the left was concerned about his stance on healthcare and vaccines, the right was skeptical of him because of his prior support for abortion access.
Thousands of scientists, physicians, and even Kennedy’s own cousin wrote letters vehemently opposing his nomination. Some of his most ardent supporters, on the other hand, are pro-Kennedy “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) moms whose main concerns are promoting restorative agriculture, combatting poor diets, and addressing corruption in science and health agencies.
February 4th, 2025
After days of arduous questioning, Kennedy successfully cleared the committee vote, advancing him to the full Senate for a final vote. This put him on track to be the health secretary despite strong Democratic opposition. One disgruntled committee member, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), said that Kennedy “failed to show a ‘basic understanding’ of Medicare and Medicaid programs” — ones he would be overseeing in the health secretary role.
At 9:39 AM, President Trump stated on Truth Social, “20 years ago, Autism in children was 1 in 10,000,” Trump posted. “NOW IT’S 1 in 34. WOW! Something’s really wrong. We need BOBBY!!!”
As emphatic as Trump’s statement is, it is factually incorrect. Autism diagnoses haven’t been “1 in 10,000” since the 1980s, mainly due to previous underdiagnosis from a lack of information and research conducted about the disorder. And no, we do not “need Bobby” for this cause, or for any cause, for that matter. A man who uses a neurological disorder to fearmonger the public into following his agenda should not run the department that oversees how people with the disorder receive care and support.
Ultimately, the Senate Finance Committee voted along party lines, 14-13. Thankfully, RFK’s incoherent ramblings did not win over any Democrats. However, he did win over Cassidy, who, because of deep reservations over Kennedy’s prior (and supposedly made-up) beliefs on vaccines, had been on the fence about how to cast his vote.
Overall, Democrats voted “no,” arguing that Kennedy’s proclamations about vaccines and healthcare defied established scientific consensus. Many fear that he can (and most likely will) use his bully pulpit at HHS to discourage vaccination, in a complete 180 from the morals he preached at his confirmation hearings.
February 13th, 2025
In the late morning, RFK Jr. was officially confirmed as the head of Health and Human Services, giving the anti-vaccine activist oversight of a $2 trillion health portfolio. The confirmation followed Democratic senators’ speeches of protest that lasted past midnight. Republican senior Senator Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor, joined Democrats to vote against Kennedy’s confirmation, saying he “will not condone re-litigation of proven cures.”
Kennedy will now oversee Medicaid and Medicare, both of which insure a total of 140 million Americans. His hearings proved that he does not understand how these programs work in the slightest. Additionally, he will oversee the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health. With this much oversight, one thing is certain: he will further the vaccine propaganda he’s recently been pretending that he hasn’t been championing for decades.
Even before the recent flurry of DOGE and RFK activity, the Trump administration has uprooted scientific research in the United States. This news comes against a backdrop of a measles outbreak in Gaines County in Texas, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country.
Additionally, federal health agencies have deleted countless databases that included data on diseases like tuberculosis in what seems to be an ideologically-motivated move. If these pages, which are routinely used by doctors, are not available to the public, it is harder for doctors (who are medically trained, unlike some people) to effectively treat their patients. Large research institutions will also likely be negatively affected. Despite Kennedy’s promise to “re-examine” this policy once confirmed, it remains unclear whether he will follow through. The party that champions pro-life ideologies is bringing the medical research that saves countless lives to a grinding halt.
Now, more than ever, is not the time to be denying factual evidence just to spite political opponents and further your own beliefs. Like many, Kennedy seems to enjoy denying factual evidence once it puts his career in jeopardy or no longer aligns with his political agenda.
Learn how to practice what you claim to preach, Kennedy. Your absurdity will cost countless Americans their lives. And, for the first time in your life, act on behalf of the American people, not yourself.
The opinions expressed within this piece represent the views of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Jefferson Independent.
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