RFK Jr confirmation hearing recap: Health secretary faces avalanche of Democrat attacks as Cheryl Hines watches

Robert F. Kennedy Junior was told bluntly he 'frightens' people as he was grilled during his confirmation hearing to become health secretary.

RFK Jr was challenged about a number of conspiratorial claims he's made, including comparing the CDC to Nazi deathcamps, claiming pesticides turn children transgender and claiming Covid had been designed not to target Ashkenazi Jews.

'You frighten people,' said Rhode Island Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse during a testy exchange about RFK Jnr's previous comments about vaccines.

The nominee to be Health and Human Services' (HHS) chief promised he 'will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking either of those vaccines' after being challenged on extreme comments he'd made previously.

In the past, he has also repeatedly linked using vaccines to autism, and also raised concerns over their safety and effectiveness.

The Senate confirmed Donald Trump's pick Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The former New York congressman received a 56-42 vote.

The Republican ran for New York governor in 2022 and lost to Gov. Kathy Hochul by 5 points, though some saw that as a formidable challenge in the Democrat stronghold.

Zeldin has been a staunch Trump supporter and went to bat for the president during his first impeachment.

We must ensure we are protecting the environment while also protecting our economy,' Zeldin, 44, said at his confirmation hearing.

Zeldin has said cutting burdensome regulations will be a priority so that development does not get stamped out at the alter of process.

President Donald Trump has announced plans to open a facility on Guantanamo Bay to house 30,000 illegal migrants.

The U.S. military base in Cuba has historically been used to hold terror suspects since 9/11 and detainees include some of the accused masterminds.

Trump's move is part of his unprecedented crackdown on the border on illegal migration since the moment he entered office last week.

President Donald Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law on Wednesday, declaring that he's cracking down on 'vicious criminals' including the illegal migrant who killed the 22-year-old nursing student last year.

It is the first legislation he's signed into law since he return to the White House.

The law, named after the slain Georgia nursing student, requires the detention of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes.

The president was joined by Laken's parents, Jason Riley and Allyson Phillips, at the signing and her sister Lauren.

'So sad... we were together right after that happened, and it's a tremendous tribute to your daughter what's taken place today. That's all I can say... but so sad we have to be doing it all,' he added.

The new law will ensure that the 'horrific atrocity' will never happen again, Trump went on.

'It's landmark law that we're doing today. It's going to save countless innocent American lives.'

It also enables individual states to sue the federal government if it or its citizens are harmed by immigration-related actions.

Riley, 22, was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing when she went out for a run on Feb. 22, 2024. She encountered Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national in the U.S. illegally who killed her during a struggle. He was found guilty and ultimately sentenced to life in prison.

Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who co-sponsored the legislation, was spotted applauding during the formal ceremony while wearing his signature black hoodie.

He looked visibly emotional during the event, crossing his arms with a somber expression as Trump detailed the gruesome details of Riley's death.

Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter

Republicans flocked to Donald Trump's Miami-area golf course to chart a path forward on the president's many goals, but they made little progress.

At issue is how House Republicans led by Speaker Mike Johnson decide to write a budget reconciliation plan, which the GOP will use a bill that they can attach many of Trump's priorities like border security and tax cuts on to.

The formulation of a bill like this is more complicated than most legislation, lawmakers openly admit with a shrug. The reconciliation method is infrequently used and many in Congress have not gone through the process.

But Trump wants his policies passed into law as soon as possible and he has repeatedly prodded Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to get the legislative overhaul rolling.

Adding another layer of complexity is the open question of whether Republicans will be able to get the president's huge array of promises, like no tax on tips, social security and overtime as well as adjusting birthright citizenship, into the same bill.

Trump has said he wants one 'big, beautiful bill,' but more recently has backed off, urging he doesn't care about the minute details of how Congress enacts his agenda - rather he just wants it done quickly.

Dauntingly complicated, Republicans appear paralyzed by the reconciliation process, and Johnson confirmed Wednesday morning on the final day of the retreat that his party still is working on a 'blueprint' for this 'historic' legislative undertaking.

And Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene is ripping leadership for having 'no plan' after a lavish retreat 'that didn’t accomplish anything.'

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent

Sen. Bernie Sanders asked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Wednesday how he can say he's not anti-vax if the group he founded is selling anti-vax baby onesies.

During Wednesday's wild Senate confirmation hearing, Sanders displayed two onesies being sold by the RFK-founded Children's Health Defense.

'You have started a group called Children's Health Defense. You're the originator. Right now, as I understand, that on their website they are selling what's called onesies - these are little things, clothing, for babies,' Sanders began.

Sanders pointed out that one of the onesies says: 'Unvaxxed, Unafraid,' while another said, 'No Vax, No Problem.'

'And they're sold for $26 bucks a piece, by the way,' Sanders added.

'Now you're coming before this committee and you say you're pro-vaccine,' the progressive former presidential candidate continued. 'And yet your organization is making money selling a child's product to parents for $26 bucks, which casts fundamental doubt on the usefulness of vaccines.'

'Can you tell us now that you will - now that you are pro-vaccine - that you're going to have your organization take these products off the market?'

Kennedy responded that he had 'no power over that organization.'

'I resigned from the board,' RFK Jr. said.

Sanders pointed out that Kennedy only resigned a few months ago and that he was the founder.

'Are you supportive of this?' the Vermont independent yelled. 'Are you supportive of these onesies?'

Kennedy answered, 'I'm supportive of vaccines,' and began to laugh as Sanders continued to shout about the onesies.

'I'm supportive of vaccines. I want good science and ...,' he said, getting cut off.

'But you will not tell the organization you founded not to continue selling that product,' Sanders interrupted.

Jack Schlossberg, the son of Caroline Kennedy, slammed his cousin during Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearing.

'F***ing liar,' Schlossberg wrote on X when RFK Jr. said he was not anti-vaxx.

The Kennedy family has vocally opposed RFK Jr.'s nomination as the secretary of Health and Human Services.

Caroline Kennedy sent a letter to lawmakers on Tuesday, outlining her concerns and calling her uncle a 'predator.'

She is the daughter of President John F. Kennedy. RFK Jr. is the son of Robert Kennedy, the late president's brother who served as his attorney general.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) asked Kennedy if he would commit to not accepting compensation from drug companies, medical device companies, hospital systems or insurers for at least four years after leaving the position.

‘Who me?’ Kennedy responded as the crowd laughed.

He said he would commit and joked that drug companies wouldn’t want to pay him.

Warren then asked him not to take any compensation for suing drug companies while secretary and four years after.

‘You’re asking me to not sue drug companies?’ Kennedy asked as supporters in the room laughed.

Warren suggested there’s a lot of ways he could influence lawsuits and future lawsuits and asked him not to have a financial stake in them so he won’t benefit in them financially down the line.

Warren concluded:

The bottom line is the same Robert Kennedy can kill off access to vaccines and make millions of dollars while he does it.

Kids might die, but Robert Kennedy can keep cashing in.

RFK Jr. was asked by a Republican senator:

Are you a conspiracy theorist?

RFK Jr. appeared to smile. He said:

That is a pejorative that's applied to me, mainly to keep me from asking difficult questions of powerful interests. I was told that I was a conspiracy theorist. That label was applied to me because I said that the vaccines, the Covid vaccine, didn't prevent transmission and it wouldn't prevent infection.

When the government was telling people, Americans, that it would, I was saying that because I was looking at the monkey studies. In May of 2020, I was called a conspiracy theorist. Now, everybody admits it. I was called a conspiracy theorist because I said red dye caused cancer. And now the FDA has acknowledged that and banned it.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent

Robert F. Kennedy's eyebrow raising comments about COVID-19 being 'ethnically targeted' to harm white and black people, while sparing Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people, were brought back up during Wednesday's Senate confirmation hearing.

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet read the quotes first reported by The New York Post in July - while RFK Jr. was still a presidential candidate.

At the time Kennedy was hosting a press event at an Upper East Side restaurant.

'COVID-19. There is an argument that it is ethnically targeted. COVID-19 attacks certain races disproportionately,' the wannabe HHS secretary said. 'COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.'

'We don’t know whether it was deliberately targeted or not but there are papers out there that show the racial or ethnic differential and impact,' Kennedy added.

He gave the same caveat during Wednesday's hearing.

'I didn't say it was deliberately targeted,' Kennedy told Bennet. 'I just quoted an NIH-funded and an NIH-published study.'

'I quoted a study, your honor,' Kennedy asserted as Bennet re-read the quotes.

Senator Whitehouse (D-R.I.) started his time by telling Kennedy that he frightens people.

The senator asked the nominee to promise to ‘never say vaccines aren’t medically safe when they in fact are.’

Whitehouse asked Kennedy to make it ‘indisputably clear’ that he supports mandatory vaccines against disease that will keep people safe.

He noted a recent measles outbreak in his state.

‘You frighten people,’ Whitehouse told Kennedy.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) pressed Kennedy over Title X and abortion.

‘I’m going to support President Trump’s policy on Title X,’ Kennedy said.

The nominee said he agrees with the president ‘every abortion is a tragedy.’

Kennedy also said he agrees with Trump that abortion should be left to the states.

He noted that the president hold him he wants to end late abortions, create a conscious exemption and end federal funding for abortion.

Kennedy said he serves at the pleasure of the president.

I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. I agree with him we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year. I agree with him that the states should control abortion. President Trump has told me that he wants to end late-term abortions. He wants to protect conscience exemptions

During a tense back and forth, Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) asked Kennedy if he had said Lyme disease is a ‘highly likely militarily engineered bioweapon.’

‘I probably did say that,’ Kennedy said.

Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) touted PEPFAR and its work to treat and prevent HIV and AIDS around the world.

Cornyn said not continuing the program would cede leadership to China and asked Kennedy if he would work to continue the program providing drugs to those in need.

‘I absolutely support PEPFAR,’ Kennedy said.

He vowed to work with Senator Cornyn to strengthen the program.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

Senator Wyden grilled Kennedy over whether he believes the measles are deadly and noted a report over Kennedy's visit to Samoa that claimed it led to an outbreak.

Kennedy argued that his visit to Samoa had ‘nothing to do with vaccines’ and that you could not find a single person there who said they did not get a measles vaccine because of him.

Wyden pushed back that he wrote a book saying people have been ‘misled into believing that measles is a deadly disease.

‘I support the measles vaccine, I support the polio vaccine,’ Kennedy said in the hearing.

He vowed he would do nothing as HHS secretary to make it difficult or discourage people.

Wyden also pressed Kennedy on a past comment where he said he would ‘do anything’ to go back in time and not vaccinate his children.

‘Are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro-vaccine?’ Wyden asked.

Kennedy insisted his statement on safety and effectiveness was taken out of context.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. brought up President Trump’s favorite fast food while bashing food additives and chronic disease.

‘I don’t want to take food away from anybody. If you like a McDonald’s cheeseburger, Diet Coke – which my boss loves – you should be able to get them,’ he said during his confirmation hearing. The line got a laugh in the Senate Finance Committee room. ‘If you want to eat Hostess Twinkies, you should do that, but know what the impacts are on your family and health,’ he added.

Kennedy was pictured having a McDonald’s meal with Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Elon Musk last November despite his years of warnings about fast food and processed foods.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent

Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's half-brother Kyle Kemper appeared at Wednesday's confirmation hearing for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kemper has long publicly supported Kennedy and his MAHA - Make America Healthy Again - movement.

President Donald Trump chose Kennedy as ths Health and Human Services Secretary after he endorsed Trump's presidential run in August, abandoning his own independent White House bid.

Trudeau's half-brother has been critical of the liberal Canadian prime minister's rule.

In a recent interview with the Tucker Carlson Show, Kemper agreed that his half-brother did permanent damage to Canada.

The Canadian prime minister announced his resignation earlier this month after being in power for nearly 10 years.

A second protester was removed from the Kennedy hearing as he was facing a grilling over his past comments on vaccines.

The protester was holding up a sign that said 'vaccines save lives.'

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

‘I don’t want to take food away from anybody,’ Kennedy said.

He noted that Trump loves cheeseburgers which got some laughs from the crowd.

Kennedy argued people should be able to get the food they want but should know about the impact on their family and health.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

Also in his opening statement, Kennedy claimed that he is ‘not the enemy of food producers’ as he has questioned a long list of products produced and consumed in the U.S.

‘American farms are the bedrock of our culture and national security,’ Kennedy said.

‘I want to work with our farmers and food producers to remove burdensome regulations and unleash American ingenuity.’

Kennedy vowed of confirmed, HHS will make sure to use tax dollars for healthy foods, scrutinize chemical additives in the food supply and remove financial conflicts of interest from the agencies he will oversee.

‘In my advocacy, I have disturbed the status quo by asking uncomfortable questions. Well, I’m not going to apologize for that. We have massive health problems in this country that we must face honestly,’ Kennedy told the Senate Finance Committee.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

In his opening statement, Robert Kennedy Jr. said the U.S. has worse health than any other developed nation and vowed if confirmed to ‘put the health of Americans back on track.’

Kennedy denied he is an anti-vaxxer amid concerns over his long history of questioning vaccines’ safety and efficacy.

‘I want to make sure the committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry. I am neither. I am pro-safety,’ Kennedy declared before the committee.

At that point, a woman jumped up and shouted ‘he lies.’

She was quickly removed from the room.

He also pointed out that all his kids are vaccinated and said vaccines ‘have a critical role in healthcare.’

Kennedy is expected to face tough questions for his work with Children’s Health Defense, which he founded. The nonprofit has fought against vaccines and sued the government on numerous occasions including over the COVID vaccine.

Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oreg.) said the receipts shows Kennedy embraced conspiracy theories and made it his life work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids vaccinated.

The ranking member on the committee said it has been ‘lucrative for him’ and said Kennedy ‘chases money and influence wherever they lead’ even if it means death for some people.

Despite recent reports of marital problems, Kennedy’s wife Cheryl Hines is in attendance for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.

She is seated just behind RFK Jr.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

Robert Kennedy Jr. received a standing ovation from his supporters as he entered his confirmation hearing.

Some shouted ‘we love you Bobby.’

He briefly waved to the crowd before going to greet senators on both sides of the aisle.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

Spotted in the room ahead of RFK Jr.'s confirmation hearing have been a mix of doctors in white lab coats, people wearing Kennedy 2024 pins and stickers and a few folks wearing 'confirm RFK Jr.' hats.

The doctors in coats appear to be from the National Physicians Alliance. They are wearing pins to reject Kennedy.

Also in the room is media personality Megyn Kelly, who has a seat just two rows behind where Kennedy will be seated.

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

The Senate took a step forward with the confirmation of Pam Bondi to be the next attorney general.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance her nomination this morning.

Her confirmation heads to the Senate floor next.

President Donald Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday defended the president’s offer of a buyout to federal workers if they did not want to return to the office.

'This administration is very generously offering to pay them for eight months,' she said to reporters in the driveway of the White House.

She noted that only six percent of federal workforce in Washington, DC shows up for work in the office in the city.

'That's unacceptable,' she said.

She described Trump's insistence 'overwhelmingly popular.'

'This government has been wasting millions of dollars of empy office space that is beautiful, I mean look at the beautiful buildings in this city,' she said.

There are widespread concerns RFK Jr may sow distrust in vaccines by using his platform to promote baseless conspiracy theories.

In 2019, he flew to Samoa during the nation's measles outbreak to campaign for people not to get the vaccine — saying it would cause autism, a theory from a study that was withdrawn after serious flaws were found in its methodology.

Eighty-three people died in the outbreak and 5,700 were sickened before the island nation's government was forced to mandate the shots.

In 2021, the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense, which Mr Kennedy is the chair of, campaigned vigorously against the Covid vaccines, targeting young parents with advertisements advising them not to get the shots.

Dr Paul Offit, a pediatrician in Philadelphia who previously slammed Mr Kennedy as 'remarkably dishonest,' told DailyMail.com it was likely the administration would not be able to ban vaccines.

'I am confident that the guardrails in place at the FDA and CDC are long-standing and have served us well,' he said.

'I am not sure how much RFK Jnr can do to destroy that.'

But experts are still expressing their concerns.

Dr Michael Osterholm, an infectious diseases expert and bird flu tracker at the University of Minnesota, told CNN: 'I can’t imagine anyone who would be more damaging to vaccines and the use of vaccines than RFK.'

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter on Capitol Hill:

RFK Jr. is one of several Trump nominees to appear before Senate committees today.

Also appearing at 10am ET, the president’s pick to run the Commerce Department Howard Lutnick will appear before the Senate Commerce Committee.

The CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and close Trump ally who co-lead the president’s transition team is expected to make it through the confirmation process without the same hurdles that RFK Jr. faces, but he could face tough questions for his past business practices.

Another nominee to appear on Capitol Hill later on Wednesday is Kelly Loeffler, the former Georgia senator who is tapped to lead the Small Business Administration.

She worked alongside some of the senators who will be grilling her having been appointed to serve in the Senate from 2020 to 2021. She lost 2020 election to Senator Raphael Warnock.

Consumers have repeatedly raised concerns over the number of potentially harmful additives and pesticides added to their foods, substances that are often outlawed in Europe.

Health officials have also sounded the alarm over ultra-processed foods and America's escalating obesity crisis, with 73 percent of adults now overweight or obese.

Mr Kennedy proposes to change all that with his radical policies aiming to ban pesticides, food additives, seed oils and some ultra-processed foods.

Details on which could be banned are not clear, although the idea formed a key plank of his 'Make America Healthy Again' plan, which he said aimed to provide families 'with safe food and end the chronic disease epidemic plaguing our children'.

He has only explicitly mentioned Yellow 5, but similar ingredients that could be under the microscope are Red 40, Blue 1, titanium dioxide, propylparaben and potassium bromate, which are often added to sweets and baked goods.

The ingredients, which are either banned or heavily regulated in Europe, have been the focus of new laws trying to make food safer.

Democratic states like California, New York and Illinois have been spearheading efforts to ban these substances in the US at present.

California has a ban on four additives — brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and red dye No 3 — which is set to come into force in January 2027.

It is also possible he will look to tighten regulations around contaminants in food, such as lead and cadmium that can be detected in spices and dark chocolate and has been linked to neurodevelopmental problems.

Robert F Kennedy Jr. has been praised for calling out medical and pharmaceutical companies who profit from people's chronic illnesses, like obesity and diabetes.

In an unearthed interview with Dr Phil, he slammed pharma giants for 'making money from keeping us sick' and promoting dependency on weight-loss drugs at a huge cost to the taxpayer - instead of encouraging people to make healthy lifestyle choices.

He linked his complaint to proposed legislation to make weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy available to around a million obese Americans.

Under the Biden-era policy, seniors enrolled in Medicare and low-income people enrolled in Medicaid would gain access to weight-control drugs for free.

RFK Jr. said he would rather provide people with organic food three times a day than hemorrhage trillions of dollars giving every obese American the expensive shots.

The Republican, who Donald Trump has nominated as his secretary for the Department of Health, instead said that 'diabetes is treatable with food, with exercise.'

Caroline Kennedy has released an extraordinary video of comments to senators where she calls her cousin RFK Jr. a 'predator' who set family members on a path to drug addiction and mistreated small animals.

The daughter of president John F. Kennedy said she held back on criticism of her cousin during his failed presidential campaign due to her role as U.S. ambassador to Australia.

But she unloaded on her famous cousin in her statement on the eve of his Senate confirmation hearing, as he faces an uncertain future in the Senate as Donald Trump's pick to lead the Health and Human Services Department.