BREAKING: Senate Finance Committee votes to advance RFK Jr as HHS Sec

The Senate Finance Committee voted to advance Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to a final vote of 14 to 13 votes to be considered for the Director of Health and Human Services under President Donald Trump's administration. The full Senate is still to vote on his confirmation.

Kennedy sat in hearing over the last week, where he was questioned on his views on all sorts of topics, such as his previous comments on vaccines, as well as other positions by Democratic senators. Kennedy was also questioned about his views on abortion and if he would hire pro-life staffers at HHS by some GOP senators. Kennedy said that he agreed with Trump that every abortion is a tragedy, and committed to bring pro-life staffers into HHS.

Previous to the vote, Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden, Maria Cantwell, Raphael Warnock criticized Kennedy on the topic of vaccines, claiming that his answers in the hearings were lacking. They labeled him as "unqualified" to hold the position.

Kennedy has a history of being opposed to some vaccinations, and was accused of being anti-vaccine in last week's hearings. When this was brough up, he repeatedly said that he was not "anti-vaccine" but that he is in favor of heavy vetting of vaccinations and policy associated with them.

Wyden accused Kennedy of misleading people in country about the vaccine for measles in one of the hearings last week. Kennedy responded at the time, “In Samoa in 2017, or 2015, there were two kids who died following the MMR vaccine. And the vaccination rates in Samoa dropped precipitously from about 63 percent to the mid-30s, so they’ve never been very high." 

The HHS nominee later added, "I support the measles vaccine, I support the polio vaccine, I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking either of those vaccines."   

Kennedy ran as an independent in the 2024 presidential election, but later in his campaign, teamed up with Trump, and used the phrase often associated with Trump "Make America Great Again" to also push the message "Make America Healthy Again." 

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Bill Cassidy, was a key vote to advance Kenned to the Senate vote. Cassidy, who is also on the Senate Finance Committee, has a long history as a physician, and questioned Kennedy on vaccines last week.

Leading up to the vote, Cassidy wrote on X, “’ve had very intense conversations with Bobby and the White House over the weekend and even this morning. I want to thank VP JD specifically for his honest counsel. With the serious commitments I’ve received from the administration and the opportunity to make progress on the issues we agree on like healthy foods and a pro-American agenda, I will vote yes.”