--- title: What to Expect from RFK Jr.’s Confirmation Hearings description: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of President Donald Trump's more controversial Cabinet nominees, will face questioning by Senators this week. canonical: https://time.com/7210669/robert-f-kennedy-jr-confirmation-hearings/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-01-28T19:32:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:49:55.125Z article:section: Politics og:title: What to Expect from RFK Jr.’s Confirmation Hearings og:description: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is one of President Donald Trump's more controversial Cabinet nominees. og:url: https://time.com/7210669/robert-f-kennedy-jr-confirmation-hearings/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ee327dbc3aa5fb4/6998b2cde2d64b235fc5d240/RFKJr-Hearings.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: President-Elect Trump's Cabinet Nominees Meet With Lawmakers On Capitol Hill og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What to Expect from RFK Jr.’s Confirmation Hearings twitter:description: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is one of President Donald Trump's more controversial Cabinet nominees. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ee327dbc3aa5fb4/6998b2cde2d64b235fc5d240/RFKJr-Hearings.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What to Expect from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Confirmation Hearings > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=7abc285f-7ece-4857-8de3-f0da1e69e88f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: RFK Jr. Grilled on Vaccines in Contentious Senate Hearing [Watch (HLS stream): RFK Jr. Grilled on Vaccines in Contentious Senate Hearing](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2fqRpYmV.m3u8) (8:33)  _Published 2025-01-29. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled by Senators in his first confirmation hearing for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday, during which he struggled to convince lawmakers that he is not “anti-vaccine” and appeared unfamiliar with key aspects of healthcare insurance programs and other policies he would oversee._ by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) and [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/) Jan 28, 2025 7:32 PM UTC Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled by Senators in his first confirmation hearing for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday, during which he struggled to convince lawmakers that he is not “anti-vaccine” and appeared unfamiliar with key aspects of healthcare insurance programs and other policies he would oversee. by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) and [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/) Jan 28, 2025 7:32 PM UTC Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will face questioning by Senators from both parties on Wednesday and Thursday, in one of the most anticipated confirmation hearings for President Donald Trump’s Administration. If confirmed by the Senate, Kennedy would head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees many of the country’s health agencies, from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His nomination is already stirring fierce debate on both sides of the political aisle. Kennedy, 71, is one of Trump’s more controversial Cabinet nominees. Known for his anti-vaccine views, Kennedy has sparked backlash and outrage from the science and medical communities for spreading disinformation. In addition to repeating the [debunked claim](https://time.com/6289037/robert-f-kennedy-jr-wrong-about-vaccines/) that vaccines cause autism—despite years of research proving that vaccines are both safe and effective—he has also [accused](https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1849925311586238737) the FDA of “aggressive suppression” of raw milk (the FDA [warns](https://www.fda.gov/food/resources-you-food/raw-milk) that raw milk can have harmful bacteria, such as E. coli and listeria, that can lead to illness and even death). Kennedy has also [said](https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1852812012478398923) he would stop the safe and years-long practice of adding fluoride to the water supply, which, while done to protect oral health, Kennedy claims is tied to issues like IQ loss and bone cancer. Perhaps one area where Kennedy may be able to find bipartisan support is on his goals for food and nutrition. Kennedy, who initially ran as an independent in the 2024 presidential election before [endorsing](https://time.com/7014448/rfk-campaign-trump-endorsement/) Trump, has [promoted a plan](https://www.mahanow.org/issues) to “Make America Healthy Again,” promising to “ban the hundreds of food additives and chemicals that other countries have already prohibited” and saying that he would “change regulations, research topics, and subsidies to reduce the dominance of ultra-processed food.” But while some health experts have been encouraged by Kennedy’s pledge to address this issue, most are [alarmed and appalled](https://time.com/7177027/rfk-jr-hhs-secretary-trump-public-health/) that Kennedy is being considered to lead HHS. “We shouldn’t even be having this discussion,” says Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who has served on CDC and FDA vaccine advisory committees. “So how do I hope \[the hearing\] goes? The way I hope this goes is that he was never considered.” Kennedy can only afford to lose three Senate Republican votes if Democrats unanimously oppose his nomination. It’s currently unclear whether any Republicans will vote against him. TIME spoke with public health experts and lawmakers about the biggest issues likely to arise in the hearings this week. ## Vaccines and viruses Public health experts agree that Kennedy’s false claims about vaccines will be a major focus of the hearings. While Kennedy has [said](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-win-rfk-jr-says-wont-take-away-anybodys-vaccines-rcna178955) that he and the Trump Administration wouldn’t remove vaccines from the market, he has, for years, spread misinformation about them. In addition to promoting the debunked claim that vaccines are linked to autism, Kennedy [falsely labeled](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/dec/10/robert-f-kennedy-jr/no-covid-19-vaccine-not-deadliest-vaccine-ever-mad/) the COVID-19 vaccine “the deadliest vaccine ever made,” even though [data has proven](https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-finds-covid-vaccines-not-linked-sudden-death-young-people-rcna147188) and [health experts have said](https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/is-the-covid19-%20vaccine-safe#:~:text=Roughly%2012%20months%20of%20data,those%20who%20meet%20the%20guidelines.) that COVID-19 vaccines are both safe and effective. In 2021, he [filed a petition](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/health/rfk-jr-covid-vaccines.html) with the FDA, requesting that the agency revoke its emergency-use authorizations for the COVID-19 vaccines. “The hospitals were overwhelmed with that virus," Offit says. “Our ICU was flooded, and here this man stands up and says, ‘I think that you should remove your authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine.’ I mean, that \[vaccine\] was a godsend. That was our way out of this pandemic.” “Let’s imagine that there was a bird flu pandemic—how would he handle that? Since he doesn’t believe in vaccines, which, by the way, is not a belief system—it’s an evidence-based system,” Offit says. Lawrence Gostin, director of Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, says he hopes the Senate committees “dig down” on vaccinations—not just asking Kennedy if he would ban certain vaccines, but more specific questions, like: would Kennedy appoint scientists with vaccine research expertise to the CDC vaccine advisory committee? Would he follow or undermine CDC recommendations for childhood vaccination schedules? When he [says](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/22/rfk-anti-vaxxer-trump-00199771) that he wants to make vaccine research more transparent, what would that look like? **Read More:** [_What Donald Trump’s Win Could Mean for Vaccines_](https://time.com/7173744/donald-trump-vaccines/) Kennedy has also [suggested](https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/11/15/nx-s1-5191947/trump-rfk-health-hhs) that AIDS may not be caused by HIV, despite [overwhelming scientific evidence e](https://www.nytimes.com/article/rfk-conspiracy-theories-fact-check.html)stablishing the link between the two. ## Food and nutrition Kennedy has gained some support for his stance on food and nutrition. Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and director of the Food Is Medicine Institute at Tufts University, acknowledges Kennedy’s controversial statements on vaccines and fluoride in water, but says he hopes that Kennedy’s more contentious comments “may have been partially \[or\] purposefully inflammatory to raise attention,” and hopes that Kennedy will follow “the evidence and the science” and focus on the issue of nutrition. “There’s broad consensus across the country, across the political spectrum, that our food is making us sick, and that we haven’t been paying nearly enough attention to this,” Mozaffarian says. “RFK Jr. has appropriately highlighted this is a true national crisis requiring urgent attention.” Gostin also anticipates that Kennedy’s comments on food will come up during the hearings, but says he hopes that Senators drill in on their line of questioning. “For me, again, I would ask the hard questions. It’s easy to say, ‘Well, I want to take out toxins and dyes from food,’” Gostin says. “What policies does he really want to put forward, and what is he prepared to do to fight for them?” **Read More:** [_The Power RFK Jr. Would Have Over Food_](https://time.com/7200323/rfk-jr-hhs-food-nutrition-health/) ## Income and debt Kennedy’s financial disclosures could also be a point of discussion during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. Recent [financial disclosure forms](https://extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presiden.nsf/PAS+Index/A56222F259495B0D85258C1A00565073/%24FILE/Kennedy%2C%20Jr.%2C%20Robert%20F.%20%20final278.pdf) filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics reveal that he reported up to $1.2 million in credit card debt, along with mortgages that could total up to $10.5 million. Kennedy's income, however, paints a different picture. Over the past two years, he reported earnings exceeding $12 million, with a significant portion of that coming from his law firm, Kennedy & Madonna LLP, which recently rebranded to Madonna & Madonna LLP. Despite his mounting liabilities, he continued to earn substantial income from referral fees, including nearly $9 million from legal cases. His ongoing involvement in the law firm, particularly cases involving vaccine manufacturers, has prompted Kennedy to vow to sever ties with the firm if confirmed to avoid potential conflicts of interest. ## What are lawmakers saying? Kennedy’s path to HHS rests with the Republican-controlled Senate,which holds a razor-thin majority. Senators from both parties have been vocal about their concerns, focusing on his past views on vaccines, food safety, and abortion. Some Republicans are demanding that Kennedy clarify his past support for abortion rights, given that he would play a key role in shaping the Trump Administration’s abortion policies if confirmed. Former Vice President Mike Pence, a staunch opponent of abortion, is lobbying against Kennedy’s nomination. Kennedy, [like Trump](https://time.com/7096575/donald-trump-abortion-plan-2024/), has flip-flopped on the issue, previously [saying he would support](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/14/us/politics/rfk-jr-abortion-ban.html) a federal ban on abortion after the first trimester of pregnancy, before backtracking and [saying](https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1789121919951704481) that abortion should be legal up until a certain point. **Read More:** [_The Powers Trump’s Nominees Will Have Over Abortion_](https://time.com/7209202/donald-trump-cabinet-abortion/) Meanwhile, Democrats have questioned Kennedy’s qualificationsfor the role based on his past statements and unorthodox view of medicine. Democratic lawmakers told TIME that Kennedy’s position on vaccines is a dealbreaker. Asked if anything could change his mind on Kennedy’s nomination, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, said: “Well, if he were to say I was totally misguided and mistaken on my criticism of vaccines.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday that he “cannot recall a nominee more dangerous to the health of Americans than Mr. Kennedy.” “He is neither a doctor, neuroscientist nor a public health expert, nor a policy expert of any kind,” he said. “When I met with him, he would not answer many questions directly, saying he would defer to the president, who also is hardly a leader… Nobody should believe this 11th hour conversion of Mr. Kennedy on vaccines.” Several Democrats declined to say how they will vote on Kennedy. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who previously said he agreed with some of Kennedy’s positions on food policy—particularly his criticism of how the food industry prioritizes profits over public health—told reporters Monday that he will be tracking the hearings closely this week and confirmed that he spoke with Kennedy about his past debunked claim that vaccines can cause autism. ## What are public health experts saying? Gostin hopes that, in addition to asking Kennedy about his controversial statements, Senators also question him about the Trump Administration’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the World Health Organization, which has [drawn sharp criticism](https://time.com/7208937/us-world-health-organization-trump-withdrawal/) from public health experts. Senators may question Kennedy about abortion but Gostin says any line of questioning on the issue will likely be “predictable,” since he expects that Kennedy will repeat Trump’s view that abortion policy should be left up to the states. While some public health experts are uneasy about how the hearings will go, they hope that Senators across the aisle will grill Kennedy on his controversial claims. “For me, the headline should be: do you believe in science, and will HHS policies and guidelines be based on evidence and solely scientific evidence?” Gostin says. “And then secondarily, just under that is: will you rely on career scientists at U.S. public health agencies? Will you rely on their judgment and their research?” “This is the head of HHS—we shouldn’t have to force the head of HHS to embrace science and evidence and the public health mission of the agency,” Gostin says. ## Transcript Chairman, Ranking Member Wyden and members of this distinguished committee. I'm humbled to be sitting here today as President Trump's nominee to oversee the US Department of Health and Human Services. I want to thank President Trump for entrusting me to deliver on his promise to make America wealthy again. I also want to thank Cheryl and Kick and Bobby and all of my other children who are here today, and all the many members of my large extended family for the love that they have so generously shared. Ours has always been a family that has been involved in public service, and I look forward to continuing that tradition. Before I conclude, I want to make sure the committee is clear about a few things. News reports have claimed that I'm anti vaccine or any industry. I am neither. I am pro safety. No harm. We'll have order. Please proceed, Mr. Kennedy. I am pro safety. I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish. And nobody called me any fish. And I believe that my that vaccines play a critical role in health care. All of my kids are vaccinated. I've read many books on vaccines. My first book in 2014, the first line of it is I am not anti-vaccine. And the last line is I am not anti-vaccine, nor am I the enemy of food producers. American farmers are the bedrock of our culture, of our politics, of our national security, Mr. Kennedy. All of these things cannot be true. So are you lying to Congress today when you say you are pro pro-vaccine or did you lie on all those podcasts? He asked me, are there vaccines that are safe and effective? And I said to him, some of the live virus vaccines are. And I said, there are no vaccines that are safe and effective. And I was going to continue for every person, every medicine has people who are sensitive to them, including vaccines. So he interrupted me at that point. I've corrected it many times, including on national TV. You know about this, Senator Biden. So bring this up right now is dishonest. Let's be clear about what you've actually done then, since you want to deny your statements. For example, you have a history of trying to take vaccines away from people. In May of 2021, you petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to not only block Americans from having access to the Covid vaccine, but to prevent any future access to the life saving vaccine. Are you denying that your name is on the petition. We brought that petition after the CDC recommended the Covid vaccine without any scientific basis or six year old children. Most experts agree today, even the people who did it back then at Covid, vaccines are inappropriate for six year old children who basically have a zero risk from Covid. That's why I brought that lawsuit. I don't want to I want to emphasize. The. Fact I don't. Know the facts. The fact. That the committee will be in order. The nominee wrote a book saying that people had been misled into believing that measles is a deadly disease. He's trying now to play down his role in Samoa. That's not what the parents say. That's not what Governor Green says. It's time to make sure that we blow the whistle on actually what your views are. At least we're starting. We need to move on. I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS Secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking any. Anybody who believes that ought to look at the measles book you wrote saying parents have been misled into believing that measles is a deadly disease. That's not true. So I'm asking you, yes or no? Mr. Kennedy, did you say that Covid 19 was a genetically engineered bioweapon that targets black and white people, but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people? I didn't say it was deliberately targeted. I just I just quoted an NIH funded and NIH published study. Did you say that it targets black and white people but spared Ashkenazi Jews? You quoted a study. Your honor, I quoted an NIH study that showed that. I'll take that as a yes. I have to move on. Mr.. I have to move on. Did you say that Lyme disease is a It is highly likely a materially engineered bioweapon. I made sure I put in the highly likely. Did you say Lyme disease is a highly likely militarily engineered bioweapon? I probably did say that. Did you say that? That's what. The developer. Of. I want all of our colleagues to hear it. Mr. Kennedy, I want them to hear it. You said yes. Did you say that exposure to pesticides causes children to become transgender? No, I never said that. Okay, I have the record that I'll give to the chairman, and he can make his judgment about what you said. Did you write in your book? And I. It's undeniable that African American African Aids is an entirely different disease from Western Aids. Yes or no, Mr. Kennedy? I'm not sure if I may. Okay. I'll give it to the chairman. Mr.. Mr. Kennedy, and my final question. Did you say on a podcast, and I quote, I wouldn't leave it abortion to the States. My belief is we should leave it to the woman. We shouldn't have the government involved, even if it's full term. Did you say that, Mr. Kennedy? Senator, I believe that every abortion is a tragedy. Did you say it, Mr. Kennedy? This matters. It doesn't matter what you come here and say that isn't true. That's not reflective of what you really believe that you haven't said over a decade after decade after decade. Because unlike other jobs, we're confirming around this place, this is a job where it is life and death. For the kids that I used to work for in the Denver Public Schools and for families all over this country that are suffering from living in the richest country of the world, that can't deliver basic health care and basic mental health care to them. It's too important for the games that you're playing, Mr. Kennedy. And I hope my colleagues will say to the president, I have no influence over him. I hope my colleagues will say to the president, out of 330 million Americans, we can do better than this. Thank you. We need to move on. But you also said we need to trust the women to make that choice. Because I don't trust government to make any choices. You said that too, right? Yes. It is remarkable that you have such a long record of fighting for women's reproductive freedom. And really great that my Republican colleagues are so open to voting for a pro-choice HHS secretary. So, Mr. Kennedy, I'm confused. You have clearly stated in the past that bodily autonomy is one of your core values. The question is, do you stand for that value or not? When was it that you decided to sell out the values you had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump? Senator, I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy, that we can't be a moral authority in this country. Right. So but that isn't what you said back in New Hampshire in 2023. My question is, exactly when did you decide to sell out your life's work and values to get this position? Senator, I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7210669/robert-f-kennedy-jr-confirmation-hearings/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7210669/robert-f-kennedy-jr-confirmation-hearings/"},"headline":"What to Expect from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Confirmation Hearings","datePublished":"2025-01-28T19:32:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T07:49:55.125Z","description":"Robert F. 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