The United States Senate this morning confirmed President Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of Health. With every Democrat voting no and Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky also casting a negative vote, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was confirmed as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The final vote was 52-48.
Kennedy, an outspoken vaccine skeptic, now oversees $1.7-trillion in federal spending. During his confirmation hearing, he maintained that he is not anti-vaccinations, but rather a supporter of much more stringent studies and safety testing for the use of injections.
Kennedy will now oversee recommendations on vaccines, food safety and health insurance programs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kennedy spent much of his efforts backing a non-profit which sued vaccine makers. Kennedy has called for a staffing overhaul at the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes for Health. He has repeatedly said he can revive trust in those agencies.