Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the activist-turned-politician with a long history of embracing anti-scientific views, will become the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Senators voted 52-48 on Thursday to confirm Kennedy to the role. Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voted against RFK Jr., as did all Democrats.
“Mr. Kennedy is committed to reorienting our approach to health care and restoring faith in our institutions,” Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said ahead of the vote. “His passion for addressing America’s chronic disease epidemic will save lives, reduce costs, and establish a foundation for a healthier, stronger country.”
RFK Jr. will now be tasked with overseeing the department’s 13 agencies and tens of thousands of federal employees, and safeguarding the nation’s health. Kennedy brings to the job his slogan, “Make America Healthy Again,” which rallied support from unconventional figures, including President Trump.
RFK Jr. steps into the role as one of the most visible and scrutinized health secretaries in recent memory. His confirmation process included tense questioning from both sides of the aisle, spanning his views on everything from abortion to Wi-Fi and, of course, vaccines. With the Senate’s assent, Kennedy becomes the first health secretary to take the role after having made a name for himself by encouraging anti-vaccine sentiment and promoting numerous other dubious, pseudoscientific ideas.
Many senators remain concerned by RFK Jr.’s views on vaccines (he notably declined to say that vaccines don’t cause autism during his confirmation hearings), though that wasn’t enough to halt his confirmation. Plenty more in the medical and scientific establishment have expressed similar panic over the idea that Kennedy will have control over the nation’s foremost research and public health bodies.
“He demonstrated a shocking lack of knowledge about the federal health programs he’ll be charged with running, and a willful desire to mislead senators about his views on science matters like vaccine safety,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said on Wednesday.
Kennedy enters the role in the midst of massive upheaval. In the first month of Trump’s presidency, American health and science institutions have endured communications freezes, threats of funding cuts and mass layoffs, pressure to dismantle diversity programs, and more. Federal health websites have been deleted or scrubbed of key information, including public health data. Foreign health aid has been imperiled, as Trump and ally Elon Musk targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Kennedy transformed from an environmental advocate to a vaccine-challenging nonprofit leader before making this pivot into Trump’s orbit in the latter half of 2024, as the presidential race was coming to a close. As an independent candidate, Kennedy didn’t make it very far. However, by the strength of his wide-ranging MAHA movement, and with a Trump endorsement, RFK Jr. got pulled into the Trump campaign as a surrogate.
He gave the president a populist health care message in an election where many voters listed it among their top concerns. Trump, in turn, introduced his giant base to MAHA.
It remains to be seen just how RFK Jr. will turn his broad vision into specific policies. He has offered few details so far, beyond calling the status quo unacceptable and saying Trump enlisted him to end the chronic disease epidemic.
Kennedy has also vowed — against his own record — to support vaccines and not interfere with their availability, and to keep his personal views out of the work of independent federal scientists. Kennedy is a leader in the anti-vaccine movement, and has for years spread the unfounded idea that vaccines are not as safe as the government says they are.
Even in his confirmation hearings, RFK Jr. refused to walk back his claims that vaccines cause autism, and declined to accept scientific evidence to the contrary.
He has in the past expressed a desire to reform national vaccine safety testing and key oversight panels within HHS. His opponents fear that, regardless of the vows Kennedy made to senators in recent weeks, RFK Jr. will work behind the scenes to undermine science and public health.
As HHS secretary, RFK Jr. will be able to pursue his interests, shape health agendas, and influence the nation’s health in countless ways. He will also have the benefit of working with agency heads, including nominees Dave Weldon at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Mehmet Oz at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
STAT’s coverage of chronic health issues is supported by a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Our financial supporters are not involved in any decisions about our journalism.