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Robert F Kennedy Jr, President Donald Trump’s pick to be the country’s top health official, appeared unscathed after a grilling by US senators on Wednesday, as he sought to quell criticisms from both sides of the aisle over his record on vaccines and abortion.
In a sometimes heated Senate finance committee hearing, Democratic senators blasted Kennedy for his history of promoting vaccine conspiracy theories, pointing to his role in sowing doubts about measles, polio and Covid-19 shots, and for his involvement in anti-vaccine lawsuits.
Kennedy also sought to allay concerns from some anti-abortion Republican senators over his shifting stance on the procedure. On four occasions, Kennedy stressed that he agreed with Trump that “every abortion is a tragedy”, saying he would defer to the president’s policies on abortion pill mifepristone.
Kennedy’s reception at the three-hour-long confirmation hearing split along party lines, suggesting the panel is likely to back his appointment as Health and Human Services secretary, which would put him in control of a sprawling department with a $1.8tn budget. He will face questions from another Senate panel on Thursday.
In his opening remarks — which were briefly interrupted by a protester shouting “he lies” — Kennedy stressed that he was “not anti-vaccine or anti-industry”, but “pro-safety”. Kennedy noted that all his children were vaccinated, adding that he supported both the polio and measles vaccines. “I believe that vaccines play a critical role in healthcare,” he said.
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said Kennedy had “embraced conspiracy theories, quacks, charlatans”, while his colleague Elizabeth Warren said “kids might die” because of Kennedy’s anti-vaccine stance while he “can keep cashing in” from his role in vaccine safety lawsuits.
Republicans James Lankford and Thom Tillis, both viewed as possible opponents to Kennedy’s confirmation, took a more conciliatory approach. Kennedy assured Lankford that he would back the president’s policies on abortion. Tillis said he expected the vote to split along party lines: “Some of these nominations are going to be shirts and skins.”
Kennedy said his “Make America Healthy Again” campaign would solve chronic disease in the US, which he claimed was costing the country $4.3tn a year.
Kennedy also said he had been labelled a “conspiracy theorist” to prevent him from “asking difficult questions of powerful interests”.
Kennedy also sought to downplay Republican concerns over his plan to shake up the food industry. “I don’t want to take food away from anybody,” he said. “If you like a cheeseburger — a McDonald’s cheeseburger and a Diet Coke like my boss — you should be able to get them.”
Kennedy was grilled by Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, another crucial vote in getting him confirmed, over his plans to reform the state-backed Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programmes. “I don’t have a broad proposal for dismantling the programme,” he said.
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