Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced hard questions from the Senate committee handling his confirmation hearing over his views on vaccines and abortion, as he promised Wednesday to “Make America Healthy Again.”
The MAHA movement “is one of the most powerful and transcendent I’ve ever seen,“ Kennedy said in his opening remarks, before diving into what he thinks is plaguing Americans.
“A healthy person has 1,000 dreams. A sick person has only one. Today, over half of our countrymen and women are chronically ill,” Kennedy said in front of the Senate Finance Committee.
A 2018 national study backs up his claim. He listed a host of physical and mental conditions plaguing Americans, including obesity, autoimmune diseases, neurodevelopmental disorders, Alzheimer’s, asthma, ADHD, depression and substance addiction.
The nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services argued that the health care debate revolves around who pays the cost: is it the government, corporations, insurers or families? It’s akin to “rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic,” Kennedy sayd.
Instead, he said, the question should be: “Why are health care costs so high in the first place?” According to him, the answer is chronic illness.
Kennedy claimed that he isn’t anti-vaccine, and added that not only has he written books on the subject, his children are also vaccinated.
When he attempted to clear his record, a protester with a “Vaccines save lives” shirt caused an interruption, shouting “you lie.” Another protestor disrupted the hearing as Kennedy talked about COVID-19 vaccines.
Amid these instances of commotion, Kennedy’s friends, family and supporters clapped and cheered for him. His wife Cheryl Hines and two of his six children were at the hearing with him.
Kennedy said he planned on putting “the health of Americans back on track,” by reducing the number of chemical additives in American food.
Democrats targeted his vaccine skepticism and his changing opinion on abortion.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans asked Kennedy about his plans to tackle chronic illness and the mission of MAHA.
“I look forward to seeing you help make us healthy again,” said Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, as Politico reported.
Kennedy is expected to answer more questions at the hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee on Thursday.
Vaccines
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., pressed Kennedy to answer whether he supported baby onesies with anti-vaccine slogans sold by Children’s Health Defense, an organization Kennedy founded.
“You say you are pro-vaccine,” Sanders said, “yet your organization is making money selling a child’s product to parents for 26 bucks, which cast fundamental doubt on the usefulness of vaccines.”
The onesies featured phrases like “No Vax, No Problem” and “Unvaxxed, Unafraid.”
Kennedy repeatedly said he had no control over the organization’s decision and had stepped down. As Sanders kept grilling him, Kennedy responded, “I’m supportive of vaccines,” with a nervous laugh. “I want good science,” he added.
Measles outbreak
Other Democrats questioned him over a 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.
In 2018, two children in Samoa died after receiving a measles vaccine. The nurses administering the vaccine prepared the doses with an expired anesthetic instead of diluent, and later pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges. But anti-vaccine groups blamed the vaccine for the deaths. In June the next year, Kennedy visited the region to meet with local anti-vaccine activists and to campaign against these vaccines.
As Samoans began avoiding vaccinating their newborns against measles, an outbreak spread, leading to about 5,700 cases and 83 deaths, as the Deseret News reported.
Kennedy insisted he did not dissuade anyone from getting the measles vaccine and pushed back on his alleged association to the deadly outbreak.
During the outbreak in Samoa, Kennedy wrote a letter to the prime minister in November 2019, saying, “To safeguard public health during the current infection and in the future, it is critical that the Samoan Health Ministry determine, scientifically, if the outbreak was caused by inadequate vaccine coverage or alternatively, by a defective vaccine.”
Abortion
During questioning over his stance on abortion, Kennedy, who previously claimed he is “pro-choice,” said, “I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy.”
He added, “I agree with him that the states should control abortion.”
While responding to Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, he argued he trusts women to make the right choice, not the government.
Should a federal abortion ban be an option, it would come from the White House, and Trump already indicated he is against such a law. But Kennedy said he agreed with Trump that “every abortion is a tragedy.”
“I came from a family that was split on life and choice,” he said. “But the good thing in my family that I really loved is that we were able to have those conversations and respect each other. And I wish that we could do that nationally.”
Medicaid
While answering a question from Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Kennedy incorrectly stated the federal government “fully paid for” Medicaid. The program, which covers about 72 million Americans, has state and federal funding.
He didn’t have a clear answer on reforms for Medicare and Medicaid, saying he’d increase transparency and switch over to a value-based system, compared to a fee-based one, as Axios reported. When asked to get specific, Kennedy responded, “I don’t have a broad proposal for dismantling the program.”
He also incorrectly claimed those enrolled in Medicaid aren’t happy with their high premiums and deductibles — a majority of those enrolled do not pay any of these costs, per The New York Times.