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The Senate Health and Finance Committees have announced upcoming hearing dates for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination. to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) will participate in hearings with two committees, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. The first hearing will take place next week, on Wednesday, before the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees HHS. The main Senate committee that covers issues related to health and health care, the HELP committee, will investigate Kennedy the next day, Thursday.
Kennedy’s nomination could face opposition, even from Republicans. In particular, Kennedy’s views and past statements on vaccines have been scrutinized by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. In addition, GOP lawmakers have been concerned about Kennedy’s past pro-abortion views and their potential impact on the agricultural sector.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., center, attends inauguration ceremonies in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC (Photo by Kevin Lamarque – Pool/Getty Images)
In one interview with “Fox News Sunday” Earlier this month, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, the top lawmaker on the Senate aid committee, said Kennedy was “wrong” on vaccinations. One example that has been raised was Kennedy’s alleged efforts, which he has denied, to promote doubt about vaccine effectiveness during a 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa. Those efforts included a letter Kennedy sent to the nation’s prime minister, as chairman of the Children’s Health Advocacy, suggesting that the measles vaccine may have exacerbated the outbreak.
In the past, Kennedy suggested this as well vaccines can be related to autism.
“The scientific research is done and the results are clear: vaccines do not cause autism,” Autism Science Foundation President Alison Singer wrote in a statement. Kennedy suggested to journalist John Stossel that these studies are “propaganda.”
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), left, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of Health and Human Services. (Left: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Right: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Kennedy’s past pro-abortion views and what he could do to the agricultural sector in his push to implement his “Make America Healthy Again” platform have also raised concerns for some Republican members of the Senate.
“He’s made some statements about pigs and about GM corn and soybeans. I can’t believe he has a problem with that. But if he does, he has a problem with me,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, a member of the committee of finance of the Senate, told Semafor.
After a meeting with conservative Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a staunch pro-life lawmaker, the senator said that Kennedy told him that he agrees with Trump on abortion “100%” and will have a light touch on the regulation of farmers.
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Some Senate Republicans want answers from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., right, about his agricultural beliefs before confirming him. (Reuters)
“We talked about abortion and the big deal the abortion It’s just that he’s telling everybody, “Listen, whatever President Trump (gives), I’m going to give him back 100 percent,” Tuberville told reporters after his meeting with Kennedy.
Fox News Digital reached out to Kennedy’s representatives for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
