Inside Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Dramatic Confirmation Hearing: Spats With Senators on His Vaccine Stance, Interruptions by Protestors and More

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s first confirmation hearing was nothing short of dramatic.
On Wednesday, January 29, the independent politician, 71, sat before the Senate Finance Committee as they questioned him on his stances on vaccines, abortion and more as Kennedy Jr. awaits the vote to determine whether or not they will confirm his nomination to be the head of the Department of Health and Human Services. From fights over baby clothing to protestors interrupting the proceedings, the meeting was action-packed.
Join us to see what happened at the highly anticipated political gathering…
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In his opening statement, Donald Trump's pick staunchly defended himself against claims he's "anti-vaccine." Instead, he asked "uncomfortable questions" about illnesses harming Americans.
"I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish and nobody called me anti-fish," he claimed. "I believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care. All of my kids are vaccinated."
Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden confronted Kennedy Jr. over his "conflicting" statements.

"During a podcast interview in July of 2023, you said, quote, 'no vaccine is safe and effective' in your testimony today, in order to prove you're not anti-vax, you note that all your kids are vaccinated, but in a podcast in 2020, you said and I quote, you would do anything pay anything to go back in time and not vaccinate your kids," the Democrat from Oregon pointed out about his past comments. "Mr. Kennedy, all of these things cannot be true. So, are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro-vaccine, or did you lie on all those podcasts? We have all of this on tape, by the way."
The failed presidential candidate fired back, "Yeah, Senator, as you know, because it's been repeatedly debunked, that the statements that I made on the 'Lex Fridman podcast' was a fragment of the statement."

"I said, 'There are no vaccines that are safe and effective,'" Kennedy Jr. clarified before being cut off by protestors yelling as they were hauled out of the room.
"And I was going to continue, 'for every person.' Every medicine has people who are sensitive to them, including vaccines. He interrupted me at that point," the member of the famous political dynasty said of the disturbance.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed Kennedy Jr. about whether or not he would continue to take money from lawsuits he referred against drug companies.

"Kennedy can kill off access to vaccines and make millions of dollars while he does it," the left-wing leader said. "Kids might die, but Robert Kennedy can keep cashing in."
"I support vaccines. I support the childhood schedule," Kennedy Jr. replied to the remark. "I will do that. The only thing I want is good science and that's it."
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders piled onto the speculation about where the environmental lawyer stands on vaccines by displaying a baby onesie related to Kennedy Jr.'s supposed cause.

"You have started a group called the Children's Health Defense. On their website, they are selling what's called 'onesies,'" the democratic socialist said while pointing to the graphic.
"One of them is titled 'unvaxxed, unafraid.' Next one — and they're sold for 26 bucks apiece, by the way — next one is 'no vaxx, no problem,'" he added. "Your organization is making money selling a child's product to parents, which casts fundamental doubt on the usefulness of vaccines."

Kennedy Jr. dispelled his connection to the article of clothing. "Senator, I have no power over that organization. I'm not a part of it. I resigned from the board," he said.
"That was just a few months ago!" Sanders yelled. "Are you supportive of these onesies?"
"I'm supportive of vaccines," Kennedy Jr. emphasized.

The father-of-seven also clarified his stance on abortion. "I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year," he explained.

"I agree with him that the states should control abortion," Kennedy Jr. added. "President Trump has told me that he wants to end late-term abortions; he wants to protect conscientious exceptions; and that he wants to end federal funding for abortions abroad."