Trump's health pick RFK Jr grilled over vaccines, abortion in Senate

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Trump's health pick RFK Jr grilled over vaccines, abortion in Senate

#breakingnews #rfkjr #trump #vaccine #abortion #health #senate

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. came under withering attack from Democratic senators, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren over his history of promoting vaccine misinformation and his sudden embrace of anti-abortion policies during a high-stakes confirmation hearing to become President Donald Trump's health secretary.

But Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer and son of the late US Senator Robert F Kennedy, has become a politically polarising figure and one of Trump’s most controversial cabinet nominees.

Critics denounced him for a slew of past false statements questioning the safety of vaccines, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the start of Wednesday’s hearing, the top Democrat on the panel, Senator Ron Wyden, said Kennedy has “embraced conspiracy theories, quacks [and] charlatans, especially when it comes to safety and efficacy of vaccines”.

“He has made it his life’s work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids life-saving vaccines. It has been lucrative for him and put him on the verge of immense power,” Wyden said.

Other Democrats also pointed at some of Kennedy’s past statements to question his ability to lead HHS, which oversees healthcare programmes in the country.

Senator Michael Bennet asked the nominee about his prior assertion that the COVID-19 pandemic was engineered to target white and Black people, while sparing Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. Kennedy responded that he was citing federal research, without elaborating.

But Republicans, who control the 100-seat Senate, have largely supported Kennedy’s nomination.

All of Trump’s cabinet picks have been confirmed so far, with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote last week to push through Pete Hegseth’s confirmation as the new head of the Pentagon.

Kennedy, who will face another hearing before a separate Senate committee on Thursday, needs 50 votes to be confirmed.

Kennedy ran as an independent in the 2024 presidential race before dropping out and endorsing Trump in August.

He said on Wednesday that, if confirmed, he plans to deliver on a promise to “Make America Healthy Again” — a play on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

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