Live updates: RFK Jr. ready for opposition from senators in confirmation hearing
WASHINGTON - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces tough questions Thursday about his opposition to vaccines, fluoride in water and junk food as senators weigh his nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The former Democratic candidate for president and longtime environmental lawyer faces potential opposition from both Democrats and Republicans, making him potentially one of Trump's weakest Cabinet nominees. Since dropping his presidential bid in late August and backing Trump, Kennedy has focused on a "Make America Healthy Again" slogan, emphasizing the need for the government to address chronic health issues that has resonated with some Americans but alarmed health officials who have called his ideas overly simplistic and dangerous.
The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to begin Kennedy's confirmation hearing at 10 a.m. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is scheduled to question Kennedy at 10 a.m. Thursday. Both committees have to consider his nomination before it can be voted on by the Senate.
Follow along for live updates:
More: From conspiracy theories to a heated vaccine debate, here's what to expect at the RFK Jr. hearings
Hailing from one of the country's most famous Democratic families, Kennedy has publicly stuck out from his kin. But before he was a Trump cabinet nominee, Kennedy was a fellow 2024 presidential candidate sharing the same party identity as his father and uncle.
Kennedy announced his campaign in April 2023, challenging then-President Joe Biden who was running for reelection. Six months later, he dropped that bid and reentered the race as an independent candidate, saying at the time that the American two-party system is 'rigged' for voters.
After running his campaign with meager national support and funds, Kennedy dropped out of the race and quickly threw his support behind Trump. His loyalty seemingly paid off, as the now president announced his intent to make his new ally, Kennedy, Secretary of Health and Human Services the week after Election Day.
-- Savannah Kuchar
RFK Jr. has been married to actress Cheryl Hines since 2014. She is the Emmy-nominated star of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' who played Larry David's wife, Cheryl, on the show.
She also runs the beauty brand Hines+Young. The mother-daughter self-care line is co-founded by Hines and her daughter Catherine Young, with Hines writing on her website that the duo "launched Hines+Young to explore new ways to feel good without contributing to the problem of plastics."
Kennedy and Hines have been at the center of split rumors since September when Status journalist and former CNN reporter Oliver Darcy broke the news that RFK Jr. and ex-New York Magazine correspondent Olivia Nuzzi had an alleged sexting affair.
But in an Us Weekly story published Oct. 20, Hines opened up about the pair's decadelong marriage: "There's, like, a connection that you look at your husband or your partner and all the crazy going on around you, or you look and you check in and it's like, 'OK. It's going to be OK. We're going to move through this moment'," Hines said.
- Jay Stahl
Caroline Kennedy, the only living child of former President John F. Kennedy, called her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a predator in a social media video posted on Tuesday.'I have known Bobby my whole life," Caroline Kennedy says in the video, in which she's reading aloud a letter she wrote to senators. "We grew up together. It's no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because he himself is a predator."In the letter, she praised her cousin for recovering from substance abuse but said before getting sober, he encouraged siblings and cousins to use drugs and they wound up addicted, ill or dead. She characterized running the Department of Health and Human Services – which includes overseeing the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health – as "an enormous responsibility, and one that Bobby is unqualified to fill."Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has acknowledged skeletons in his closet and admitted he is "not a church boy." His children's former babysitter, who is about 20 years his junior, accused him publicly of sexual assault. He apologized to her but said he had no memory of the alleged encounter. The case never went to court.-- Erin Mansfield, Jonathan Limehouse, and Sudiksha Kochi
Kennedy told senators that he's 'all for' the polio vaccine in December. His remarks came after reports that a laywer affiliated with Kennedy petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval of a polio vaccine for kids.
The petition was filed by Aaron Siri, who had been advising Kennedy on health official selections for the Trump administration.The report immediately drew backlash from both sides of the aisle.Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wrote in a statement after the report came out that 'anyone seeking the Senate's consent to serve in the incoming Administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts.' Kennedy, a former Democrat, is known for his anti-vaccine beliefs and has repeatedly spread false or misleading claims regarding vaccines, fluoride and other topics. He gained national prominence in part because of his opposition to the childhood vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella. Kennedy has pushed debunked claims that the vaccine was linked to autism.After the reports about Siri came out, Trump also said he's a 'big believer' of the polio vaccine in a December news conference. -- Sudiksha Kochi and Michael Collins
When President Trump tapped Kennedy back in November to lead Health and Human Services, Republican senators appeared poised to see his confirmation through.
'RFK Jr. has championed issues like healthy foods and the need for greater transparency in our public health infrastructure,' Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician and chair of one committee vetting Kennedy, said in a statement at the time.
However, in the two months since, some issues have put Kennedy's confirmation in question.
His long-espoused anti-vaccine stance was scrutinized further after one of Kennedy's top advisers called into question the widely accepted polio vaccination. Farm state senators, including Republicans, raised concerns about Kennedy's objections to seed oils, pesticides and some other agricultural practices.
And his equivocating stance on abortion may likely come up, as Kennedy's more lenient approach runs counter to that of anti-abortion lawmakers.
'I'm going to ask him about the life issues,' Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said in December. 'Obviously, the first version of the Trump administration was very clear on what they thought about life, and they implemented that with HHS.'
Democrats will of course have a chance to ask questions this week too. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., ranking member of the committee holding Wednesday's hearing, said they plan to hold his feet to the fire.
'He's made some outlandish statements,' Wyden told USA TODAY Tuesday. 'We're going to get to the bottom of it.'
-- Savannah Kuchar and Riley Beggin
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Live updates: RFK Jr. ready for opposition at confirmation hearing
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