Kennedy confirmed as HHS Secretary
The US Senate today confirmed Robert F Kennedy Jr as Health and Human Services Secretary, after a vote that largely followed party lines.
Republican senator Mitch McConnell joined Democrats in voting against Kennedy, but that was not enough to change the outcome and President Trump's controversial pick – whose vaccine sceptic views are well established – was confirmed by a vote of 52 to 48.
Kennedy is now at the helm of the massive US health department, with a budget of $1.7 trillion and responsibility for the FDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), amongst other federal agencies.
McConnell – who contracted polio as a child and is a staunch advocate of vaccines – said in a statement that he was unable to support Kennedy because of his "record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions," adding that he had "failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America's largest health agency."
Kennedy survived two highly volatile Senate hearings towards the end of January and was forced to repeatedly distance himself from earlier claims that have placed him at odds with mainstream political and scientific thinking, including - for example - the debunked notion that vaccines can cause autism.
He was also taken to task over his links to a legal firm that brings lawsuits against pharma companies, said to have earned him at least $2.5 million in referral fees, and to the Children's Health Defense organisation, which lobbies against childhood vaccinations on safety grounds.
Kennedy – who stands to receive a 10% contingency fee if referral lawsuits win – has been involved with an ongoing legal complaint against MSD over its Gardasil cervical cancer shot, raising conflict of interest concerns. During the hearings, he was asked to pledge not to receive any compensation from lawsuits against drugmakers as HHS secretary and four years after his term, but declined to do so.
Two other Republican senators who had expressed reservations about Kennedy in the build-up to the vote – Bill Cassidy and Lisa Murkowski – ultimately sided with him after receiving what they said were multiple "assurances" about his plans for the HHS.
Kennedy has pledged to re-position US healthcare around a strategy of preventive care, under the Make American Healthy Again (MAHA) banner; for example, by limiting processed foods and overhauling dietary guidelines.
He has also been broadly in favour of measures to ensure affordable and accessible healthcare for Americans and efforts to slash prescription drug prices
