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Top Republican 'struggling' with RFK Jr.'s nomination over Kennedy's vaccine views

Kennedy refused to say vaccines don't cause autism during his hearings.

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Ivan Pereira, and Mary Kekatos
Last Updated: January 30, 2025, 6:14 PM GMT

President Donald Trump has promised he'd let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "go wild" on health, food and medicine as head of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Kennedy, a Democrat who ran as an independent but ended up supporting Trump in the 2024 presidential campaign, was grilled by senators over his views on vaccines, abortion, Medicaid and more during two days of confirmation hearings.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, concluded Thursday's hearing by saying he was "struggling" with the nomination due to Kennedy's vaccine positions. Kennedy notably refused to say vaccines don't cause autism as he faced pointed question from lawmakers.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news developed:
Jan 30, 2025, 4:58 PM GMT

Kennedy says he will rescind rule over transgender discrimination

Sen. Josh Hawley asked Kennedy if he would rescind a rule from the HHS issued under the Biden administration over transgender discrimination,

Under the Affordable Care Act, physicians in the U.S. who receive federal funding must perform medical treatments based on sex, even if they do not support it.

In 2021, the Biden administration issued a rule saying this policy included transgender people.

Kennedy said he would, adding, “That rule is anti-science.”

Jan 30, 2025, 4:57 PM GMT

Kennedy refuses to say that COVID vaccines saved lives

Kennedy cast doubt on the lifesaving benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines, saying he doesn't think that "anybody" can say the vaccines saved millions of lives.

A 2022 study from the Yale School of Public Health and University of Maryland Medical School estimated the vaccine saved 3 million lives and prevented 18 million hospitalizations.

PHOTO: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., nominee to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services testifies during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing for his pending confirmation, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Trump's nominee to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services testifies during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing for his pending confirmation, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington.
Rod Lamkey/AP

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., asked Kennedy about that study, as well as President Donald Trump's comments calling the vaccine "one of the greatest miracles of the ages," and asked if he agreed that vaccines saved millions of lives.

"I don't know. We don't have a good surveillance system, unfortunately," Kennedy said.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett

Jan 30, 2025, 4:38 PM GMT

Kennedy: 'Show me where I'm wrong on this'

Kennedy, seeking to defend against past anti-vaccine remarks, said he wants HHS under his potential leadership to have a "gold standard" and "evidence-based science."

"And if you show me where I'm wrong on this, show me a single statement I made about science that is erroneous," he said.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Trump's nominee to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services testifies during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing for his pending confirmation, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington.
Rod Lamkey/AP

Kennedy made a number of false or unfounded statements regarding vaccines, pesticides, and more. A fact-check of some of his claims during his first confirmation hearing can be found here.

Democrats, and some Republicans, are confronting Kennedy throughout this hearing and have been pointing to data that shows vaccines like those for measles, polio, HPV and more are safe.

Jan 30, 2025, 4:12 PM GMT

HPV vaccine is safe, effective despite past statements from Kennedy

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the HPV vaccine is safe and effective despite past statements from Kennedy that the HPV vaccine is "dangerous" and increases the risk of cervical cancer.

"Do you stand by those statements, yes or no?" Sen. Patty Murray, of Washington, asked.

"I stand by your previous statement. I litigated on that issue. I represented hundreds of young girls who felt that they were injured by the vaccine," Kennedy replied.

Kennedy has referred clients to a firm suing Merck over claims that it failed to communicate alleged risks of its HPV vaccine.

The HPV vaccine was recommended in 2006 in the U.S, for routine vaccination at age 11 or 12.

The HPV vaccine is safe and effective, according to the CDC. Data shows that in the 10 years after the vaccine was recommended in 2006 in the United States, infections with four strains of HPV infections decreased by 86% in female teens ages 14 to 19 and 71% in women in their early 20s.