Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled by Senators in his first confirmation hearing for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday, during which he struggled to convince lawmakers that he is not “anti-vaccine” and appeared unfamiliar with key aspects of healthcare insurance programs and other policies he would oversee.
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00:00Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Wyden, and members of this distinguished committee, I'm
00:07humbled to be sitting here today as President Trump's nominee to oversee the U.S. Department
00:13of Health and Human Services.
00:16I want to thank President Trump for entrusting me to deliver on his promise to make America
00:22healthy again.
00:24I also want to thank Cheryl, and Kik, and Bobby, and all of my other children who are
00:30here today, and all the many members of my large extended family for the love that they
00:36have so generously shared.
00:40Ours has always been a family that has been involved in public service, and I look forward
00:46to continuing that tradition.
00:48Before I conclude, I want to make sure the committee is clear about a few things.
00:53News reports have claimed that I am anti-vaccine or anti-industry.
00:57I am neither.
00:59I am pro-safety.
01:00We'll have an order.
01:16Please proceed, Mr. Kennedy.
01:17I am pro-safety.
01:19I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish, and
01:25nobody called me anti-fish.
01:29And I believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care.
01:36All of my kids are vaccinated.
01:38I've written many books on vaccines.
01:40My first book in 2014, the first line of it is, I am not anti-vaccine, and the last line
01:47is, I am not anti-vaccine.
01:50Or am I the enemy of food producers, American farms, and the bedrock of our culture, of
01:55our politics, of our national security?
01:57Mr. Kennedy, all of these things cannot be true.
02:04So are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro-vaccine, or did you lie on
02:11all those podcasts?
02:12He asked me, are there vaccines that are safe and effective, and I said to him, some of
02:17the live virus vaccines are.
02:19And I said, there are no vaccines that are safe and effective, and I was going to continue
02:24for every person.
02:26Every medicine has people who are sensitive to them, including vaccines.
02:32He interrupted me at that point.
02:34I've corrected it many times, including on national TV.
02:37You know about this, Senator Wyden, so bringing this up right now is dishonest.
02:42Let's be clear about what you've actually done then, since you want to deny your statements.
02:49For example, you have a history of trying to take vaccines away from people.
02:55In May of 2021, you petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to not only block Americans
03:02from having access to the COVID vaccine, but to prevent any future access to the life-saving
03:10vaccine.
03:11Are you denying that?
03:12He's on the petition.
03:14We brought that petition after CDC recommended a COVID vaccine without any scientific basis
03:25for six-year-old children.
03:28Most experts agree today, even the people who did it back then, that COVID vaccines
03:34are inappropriate for six-year-old children who basically have a zero risk from COVID.
03:40That's why I brought that lawsuit.
03:42I don't want to—
03:43Mr. Kennedy, the facts—
03:46The nominee wrote a book saying that people had been misled into believing that measles
04:03is a deadly disease.
04:05He's trying now to play down his role in Samoa.
04:08That's not what the parents say.
04:09That's not what Governor Greene says.
04:11It's time to make sure that we blow the whistle on actually what your views are.
04:15At least we're starting.
04:17We need to move on.
04:18Senator, I support the measles vaccine.
04:20I support the polio vaccine.
04:21I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking
04:28either of those vaccines.
04:29Anybody who believes that ought to look at the measles book you wrote saying parents
04:33have been misled into believing that measles is a deadly disease.
04:37That's not true.
04:38So I'm asking you yes or no, Mr. Kennedy.
04:41Did you say that COVID-19 was a genetically engineered bioweapon that targets black and
04:47white people but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people?
04:53I didn't say it was deliberately targeted.
04:56I just quoted an NIH-funded, an NIH-published study.
05:03Did you say that it targets black and white people but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese
05:07people?
05:08I quoted an NIH-funded study that showed that certain races are disproportionate.
05:15I have to move on.
05:16Did you say that Lyme disease is highly likely a materially engineered bioweapon?
05:24I made sure I put in the highly likely.
05:27Did you say Lyme disease is a highly likely militarily engineered bioweapon?
05:33I probably did say that.
05:34Did you say that?
05:36I want all of our colleagues to hear it, Mr. Kennedy.
05:41I want them to hear it.
05:42You said yes.
05:43Did you say that exposure to pesticides causes children to become transgender?
05:49No, I never said that.
05:50Okay, I have the record that I'll give to the chairman and he can make his judgment
05:55about what you said.
05:56Did you write in your book, and it's undeniable, that African Aids is an entirely different
06:04disease from Western Aids?
06:07Yes or no, Mr. Kennedy?
06:08I'm not sure if I made that.
06:10I'll give it to the chairman, Mr. Kennedy, and my final question.
06:14Did you say on a podcast, and I quote, I wouldn't leave it, abortion, to the states.
06:21My belief is we should leave it to the woman.
06:24We shouldn't have the government involved even if it's full term.
06:28Did you say that, Mr. Kennedy?
06:30Senator, I believe every abortion is a tragedy.
06:33Why did you say it, Mr. Kennedy?
06:35This matters.
06:37It doesn't matter what you come here and say that isn't true, that's not reflective of
06:42what you really believe, that you haven't said over decade after decade after decade.
06:47Because unlike other jobs we're confirming around this place, this is a job where it
06:52is life and death for the kids that I used to work for in the Denver Public Schools and
06:57for families all over this country that are suffering from living in the richest country
07:03in the world that can't deliver basic health care and basic mental health care to them.
07:10It's too important for the games that you're playing, Mr. Kennedy.
07:14And I hope my colleagues will say to the president, I have no influence over him.
07:19I hope my colleagues will say to the president, out of 330 million Americans, we can do better
07:26than this.
07:28We need to move on.
07:29But you also said we need to trust the women to make that choice, because I don't trust
07:34government to make any choices.
07:36You said that too, right?
07:38Yes.
07:39It is remarkable that you have such a long record of fighting for women's reproductive
07:43freedom, and really great that my Republican colleagues are so open to voting for a pro-choice
07:48HHS secretary.
07:51So Mr. Kennedy, I'm confused.
07:53You have clearly stated in the past that bodily autonomy is one of your core values.
07:58The question is, do you stand for that value or not?
08:02When was it that you decided to sell out the values you've had your whole life in order
08:07to be given power by President Trump?
08:09Senator, I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy, that we can't
08:15be a moral authority in this country.
08:16Right.
08:17But that isn't what you said back in New Hampshire in 2023.
08:21My question is exactly when did you decide to sell out your life's work and values to
08:26get this position?
08:27Senator, I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy.