Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took a step closer to becoming the Secretary of Health and Human Services on Tuesday.
In a 14-13 party-line vote, the Senate Finance Committee advanced Kennedy’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services to the full Senate. The vote was in doubt following tense hearings last week, where GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a doctor, expressed uncertainty about supporting Kennedy,according to CBS.
On Tuesday, Cassidy stated that he reached his final decision on Kennedy with assistance from Vice President J.D. Vance, who is a former colleague of Cassidy in the Senate.
“I’ve had very intense conversations with Bobby and the White House over the weekend and even this morning,” Cassidywrote on XTuesday 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,” he wrote.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) stated that Kennedy embodies the change the nation needs.
“Mr. Kennedy, if confirmed, will have the opportunity to deliver much needed change to our nation’s health care system,” he said, according to theNew York Post. “He has spent his career fighting to end America’s chronic illness epidemic and has been a leading advocate for health care transparency, both for patients and for taxpayers.”
The chairman noted further that RFK Jr. answered more than 900 questions from the panel.
Cassidy was concerned about Kennedy’s opposition to vaccines and his past comments linking vaccines to autism, according toNBC.
President Donald Trump touched on the rise in autism in a Tuesday post onTruth Social.
Trump wrote, “20 years ago, Autism in children was 1 in 10,000. NOW IT’S 1 in 34. WOW! Something’s really wrong. We need BOBBY!!! Thank You! DJT.”
An organization founded by former Vice President Mike Pence ramped up a pressure campaign late last month to convince Republican senators to reject RFK Jr.’s nomination to become secretary of Health and Human Services.
Pence — who served as Trump’s vice president in his first term — isopposedto RFK Jr. due to his previous support for abortion.
“Whatever the merits of RFK Jr’s Make America Healthy Again initiative—indeed, whatever other qualities a nominee might possess—an HHS Secretary must have a firm commitment to protect unborn children, or else bend under the pressure and pushback surrounding these daily, critical decisions,” Advancing American Freedom President Tim Chapman and Board Chairman Marc Short, Pence’s former chief of staff, wrote in a letter to senators.
“While RFK Jr. has made certain overtures to pro-life leaders that he would be mindful of their concerns at HHS, there is little reason for confidence at this time,” they wrote.
This marks the second formal effort by Pence and his organization to block Kennedy’s confirmation. Shortly after Trump announced Kennedy’s nomination, Pence issued a statement urging senators to reject him due to his past support for abortion, The Hillreported.
Kennedy, who initially launched a 2024 presidential campaign as a Democrat, had endorsed a ban on abortion after the first trimester but soon backtracked. He also expressed opposition to banning abortion before fetal viability, generally around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
On his campaign website, Kennedy said he is “a firm supporter of the principles laid out 50 years ago in Roe v. Wade” and that “if the courts do not overturn Dobbs v. Jackson and restore abortion rights, he will support legislation to accomplish the same.”
Kennedy reassured Republicans by stating that his personal views are irrelevant and that he will implement all the anti-abortion policies from the first Trump administration.
