Overview

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump's nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary, faced sharp bipartisan criticism over his history of vaccine skepticism and anti-vaccine rhetoric.
• Democratic senators, including Bernie Sanders and Maggie Hassan, pressed Kennedy on his refusal to unequivocally state that vaccines do not cause autism, citing settled scientific consensus.
• Senator Elizabeth Warren highlighted Kennedy's financial ties to lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest if confirmed as HHS Secretary.
• Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician, voiced concerns about Kennedy's influence on public vaccine confidence and questioned his qualifications to oversee critical health programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
• Kennedy defended his stance, claiming to support vaccine safety and transparency, but his responses left doubts among senators about his ability to lead a $1.7 trillion health agency effectively.