Here’s The Latest On Trump’s HHS Pick-And Why He’s Controversial

Topline
A conservative group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence released an ad showing President Donald Trump calling Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “a radical left plant,” as the group urges Republicans to vote against Kennedy as nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary.
Then-Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump shakes hands with … [+] then-independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a campaign rally at the Desert Diamond Arena, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Timeline
Pence’s group, Advancing American Freedom, released a 57-second advertisement a day before Kennedy’s hearing begins, compiling Trump’s past criticisms of Kennedy, including the now-president calling Kennedy an “extreme liberal” and saying “don’t think you’re going to vote for him and feel good … I’d even take [Joe] Biden over Junior.” The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee announced Kennedy would testify before it in a hearing on Thursday, Jan. 30. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) announced Kennedy would go before the committee for his hearing on Jan. 29. In an ethics form submitted by Kennedy and made public Wednesday, he said he would continue to receive fees related to cases he referred to the law firm Wisner Baum—which is suing Merck over the vaccine that protects against the human papillomavirus, or HPV—that do not involve the U.S. and “in which the United States does not have a direct and substantial interest,” The New York Times reported. Pence’s group, which is opposing Kennedy in part because of his past views on abortion, announced it’s launching a six-figure ad campaign to oppose his confirmation. The group believes there is “little reason for confidence” that Kennedy will “have a firm commitment to protect unborn children,” Advancing American Freedom President Tim Chapman and Board Chairman wrote in a recent letter to senators, echoing a previous statement from Pence, who is staunchly anti-abortion.
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When Will Senators Vote Whether To Confirm Rfk Jr.?
Kennedy must get through his confirmation hearings before the Senate Committee on Finance and the HELP committee before his nomination can be recommended to the full Senate. Kennedy, like any of President Donald Trump’s nominees, can afford to lose only three Republican votes assuming all Democrats vote against them, and it’s not clear if he will have the support he needs.
What Is Rfk Jr.’s Background?
The son of late Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Kennedy is a longtime environmental lawyer and activist. He formally entered the presidential race in April 2023 as a Democratic candidate challenging Biden for the party’s nomination, before switching to run as an independent in October that year. He dropped out of the race in August and endorsed Trump. Both suggested in subsequent months that Kennedy would be offered a job in the Trump administration, and Trump nominated him to lead HHS in November. Prior to Kennedy’s entrance into the presidential race, he was a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement, including during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is also married to actress Cheryl Hines.
What Is Rfk Jr.’s Stance On Abortion?
Kennedy supports “the principles laid out in Roe v. Wade,” according to his campaign website, which quotes him saying “abortion is a tragedy, but I don’t trust the government to make these decisions for Americans.” He said in 2023 he supports a 15-week abortion ban, but later retracted the statement. In December, Kennedy met with Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Hawley said Kennedy assured him he would “reinstate President Trump’s prolife policies at HHS.” Hawley also said Kennedy told him “he believes there are far too many abortions in the US and that we cannot be the moral leader of the free world with abortion rates so high.”
Does Health And Human Services Oversee Abortion?
As the top federal health agency, HHS could have some role in abortion regulation—even if the legality of abortion is largely determined at the state level since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. For example, under Biden, HHS told hospitals they are required under federal law to provide abortions in emergency situations, even if abortion is illegal in the hospital’s home state. The agency also issued a rule under Biden barring the “disclosure of protected health information related to lawful reproductive health care,” aiming to protect women who cross state lines to access abortion care. Some conservative groups have pushed HHS to undo the Biden-era hospital rules and enforce restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortion.
What Are Rfk Jr.’s Views On Vaccines?
Kennedy has a long history of promoting conspiracies about childhood vaccines, including the theory that the preservative thimerosal—which has been phased out of most modern vaccine formulas—is linked to autism, a claim that’s been thoroughly discredited by medical studies. In a podcast last year with Lex Fridman, Kennedy said “there’s no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective.” He walked back the statement in a subsequent interview with CNN, calling it a “bad use of words” and has often denied that he’s anti-vaccine. He gained notoriety during the Covid-19 pandemic for fueling conspiracies about the vaccines. He suggested they were related to a “wave of suspicious deaths,” according to The New York Times, and told Louisiana lawmakers it was the “deadliest vaccine ever made.” Medical authorities have said the vaccines do not increase the risk of death from non-Covid causes, and are a safe and effective means of preventing the virus, with serious side-effects extremely rare. Kennedy was the top “superspreader” of misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine on Twitter, accounting for 13% of daily retweets of low-credibility information, according to a study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. His Children’s Health Defense nonprofit filed multiple legal actions against pandemic-related public health directives and vaccine mandates, including a petition in 2021 asking the Food and Drug Administration to revoke authorization of the vaccine, The New York Times reported. In the petition, the group advocated for other treatments instead of vaccines, including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, despite them having already been deemed ineffective.
What Else Has Kennedy Said About The Covid-19 Pandemic?
In his 2021 book, “The Real Anthony Fauci,” he accused the former National Institutes of Health chief of working with Bill Gates to wage a