Follow along today for ongoing coverage of Robert F Kennedy Jr.'s first Senate confirmation hearing, where he will take questions from Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Staff writer Emma Beavins is covering the event in-person. For more background information on RFK's health positions and what to expect in today's hearing, see here.
Updated: 1:38 p.m. ET
That concludes the hearing. RFK will again face questions tomorrow, this time sitting in front of the Senate HELP Committee at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Please continue to follow along with Fierce Healthcare's coverage of the RFK confirmation process, the Trump administration and more.
Updated: 1:32 p.m. ET
Warnock is pressing RFK on his stance toward health insurance coverage and Medicaid work requirements.
He gave the example of a traveling nurse who experienced several strokes and now can't afford out-of-pocket costs because she doesn't make enough income to qualify for tax credits to buy private insurance. She falls within a Medicaid coverage gap. He asked RFK what that individual needs.
"The individual that you described would need healthcare and not a work requirement," said RFK.
Updated: 1:30 p.m. ET
Democrats are engaging in a lightning round of sorts as the hearing wraps up. Warren hits RFK again on anti-vaccine actions in Samoa. RFK said he takes no responsibility for any actions taken in Samoa.
Warren, incensed she won't get more time, is urging RFK to submit answers on the record following the hearing.
Wyden said he found RFK to be "untrustworthy and unprepared" on critical topics.
Updated: 1:25 p.m. ET
Sen. Peter Welch, D-VT, fired off a number of statements, leaving little time for RFK to respond.
When asked about a president’s power to impound Congressionally appropriated funds, RFK said he would follow the constitution.
Updated: 1:13 p.m. ET
Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, referenced slipping trust in public health institutions and asked RFK how he would address the issue.
“Through radical transparency. The reason people don’t trust the public health agencies is they haven’t been trustworthy,” RFK responded before going on to reference policies and guidance rolled out during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Updated: 1:09 p.m. ET
Sen. Tina Smith started off her remarks by highlighting his various remarks on abortion, pointing out that likely no one across the ideological spectrum would be satisfied by his answers.
“It’s hard for me to respect people who won’t give a straight answer to what they think on this particular issue,” she said.
When asked by Smith on a link between school shootings and antidepressants, RFK said there is no science to confirm or refute that claim. More on RFK’s former comments on this issue can be found here.
RFK said she mischaracterized his statements on antidepressants and healing farms.
Updated: 1:00 p.m. ET
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, asked RFK to address comments comparing work within the CDC to a “Nazi death camp” and sexual abusers in the Catholic Church, as well as statements that "many" of its workers "belong in jail.”
RFK flat out rejected the Nazi death camp comparison, and said that his job would not be to “expand or harm the CDC” but to “empower the scientists.”
“So you retract those statements?” Warnock asked.
“I’m not retracting, I never said it.” RFK said.
“Well, actually, I have a transcript,” the senator said before reading it out.
Afterward, RFK said that the quote was comparing “the injury rate in children” stemming from the centers’ work.
“I wouldn’t compare, of course, the CDC to Nazi death camps,” RFK said of the interpretation of his comments. He went on to reference a 2003 U.S. Congressional Oversight Committee investigation of a branch within the CDC, the Immunization Safety Office, that found “institutional self interests and pharmaceutical profits ahead of the welfare and health of American children. That was the conclusion of Congress, and I repeated that.”
“It sounds like you stand by those” comments, Warnock replied.
Warnock then pointed to last week’s communications freeze, which experts have said limited the agency’s ability to share timely public health updates, and asked if the appointee agreed with it. RFK characterized the freeze as standard operation.
The senator asked if RFK agrees with the reported buyout offers sent to federal appointees, and interpreted RFK’s response as agreement.
Warnock wrapped by asking RFK whether he supported expiring enhanced ACA subsidies, to which the appointee said he could not respond.
Updated: 12:51 p.m. ET
After a quick restroom intermission, the hearing continues.
RFK reiterates his desire to stop the epidemic of chronic and autoimmune illnesses, partly by moving away from ultra-processed foods and current food practices.
He also tried to assuage concerns again that he would be partner, not adversary, to farmers. He said he wants to move to incentivize a transition to regenerative agriculture, among other practices.
Updated: 12:36 p.m. ET
Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., had RFK reaffirm the importance of Medicaid and CHIPS coverage for dozens of millions of Americans. The appointee did so, but said that he and the president believes the program is not operating as it should be and that “too much money is going to insurance administrators.”
When asked about Medicaid cuts, RFK said that the president hasn’t asked him to do so, but “to make it better.” He said the decision to cut Medicaid wouldn’t be up to him, but to Congress.
RFK had difficulty responding to a question on how many states would need to end their Medicaid expansion if the federal share of Medicaid was cut—nine states covering 4 million people, per Luján. The lawmaker said he agrees that the government could “always do better,” but that Medicaid has broad support among beneficiaries.
“These programs matter for folks,” Luján said. “You shared your passion about caring for folks. I believe that passion.”
RFK went on to say that he has a long history with the Indian Health Service and plans to work on improving the service.
Shortly after, he agreed to finalize congressionally mandated FDA guidance to increase clinical trial diversity. Luján took as an opening to broach the Trump administration’s broader stance against diversity protections in the federal government, which RFK said was difficult to commit to but that he would work to ensure that the positions are staffed.
Updated: 12:29 p.m. ET
“While I agree with you on healthy foods, I am definitely troubled by the medical research side of innovation, and some of the things you have said,” started Maria Cantwell, D-WA.
That sentiment is common around Democrats today, worried that his approach toward certain issues is not worth, what they see as, a real threat to public health.
“I believe in evidence-based medicine and gold standard science,” said RFK. Many Democrats would say this statement is incorrect.
She then asked how RFK would handle PBM reform moving forward.
“I think one of the really notable achievements of this panel was the PBM legislation that they put together in a bipartisan way,” he answered. Trump has also said he wants to reform pharmacy benefit managers.
Last month, PBM reform was a casualty of heavy slashing in an end-of-year spending bill that was derailed, and ultimately reduced, by President Trump and Elon Musk.
Updated: 12:22 p.m. ET
“You’ll do such a solid job for the people of this country,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said to supporters’ applause in the opening of her time before turning to rural healthcare concerns.
Specifically, she asked RFK to work with Congress to ensure the Area Wage Index “is balanced and is fair to rural areas.”
RFK said that he and Dr. Mehmet Oz, who’s slated to serve as the head of CMS, value rural healthcare issues and would do so.
The senator then referenced children with ADHD, asked RFK how he would provide oversight of prescriptions “while promoting alternative solutions such as counseling, behavioral therapies, community-based interventions for our youth.”
RFK responded that the U.S. is “overmedicating” its children with ADHD medications, and referenced a study describing medications as the country’s third-leading cause of death. He said other approaches like exercise and nutrition are needed.
Blackburn turned to mental health coverage and asked RFK to help repeal a Medicaid policy excluding certain payments for mental health care, to which he agreed.
Updated: 12:17 p.m. ET
RFK declined to say healthcare is a human right to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT. He did say he believes the U.S. should not be paying more for pharmaceutical drugs than other countries.
Interestingly, RFK said he believes climate change is an existential threat, disagreeing with President Trump’s beliefs on the issue.
Sanders has said there is bipartisan overlap over food regulation with RFK in leadup to this hearing weeks ago. However, Sanders said RFK’s position on reproductive rights has flipped considerably. RFK again said he believes “every abortion is a tragedy,” a common refrain from him.
Sanders then showed a company that is selling anti-vaccine merchandise on the website of RFK’s nonprofit, Children’s Health Defense Fund.
RFK said he has no power to remove the merchandise from the website, saying he cannot take down clothing now that he has resigned from the company.
“Are you supportive of these onesies?” Sanders loudly interjected. That interaction elicited a chuckle from RFK.
To Sen. Thom Tillis, R-NC, he said he supports Trump's stance on Title X.
Updated: 12:04 p.m. ET
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., began with an “easy question” by asking RFK to confirm that he would not accept any money from drugmakers, medical device makers, hospital systems or health insurers for at least four years.
“Who, me? I’m happy to commit to that,” he joked to laughter in the room. “I don’t think they want to give me money, by the way.”
Warren then turned to RFK’s disclosed $2.5 million financial tie to a law firm that brings lawsuits against vaccine makers. RFK is featured in their materials to seek potential plaintiffs and he receives payment from the firm in kind. She asked him to promise not to take such payments while in office and for four years after.
“You’re making me sound like a shill,” he said.
RFK fought the questioning, saying that he would “not agree to not sue drug companies, or [sue] anybody.”
Warren noted that RFK’s pending position at the head of HHS would place him in a position to greatly influence such lawsuits against drugmakers, such as by adjusting labeling or accessing safety data.
“I am asking you right now that you will not take a financial stake in every one of those lawsuits so that what you do as secretary will also benefit you financially down the line,” she said.
The exchange devolved into an argument with the appointee and the senator angrily speaking over each other in disagreement. RFK said that he would abide by ethical standards—which Warren said was “not the question”—and that “the only thing I want is good science. That’s it.”
Following Warren’s comments, Chairman Crapo stated for the committee that RFK had completed the same ethics process as prior appointees, which included financial disclosures and a signed ethics letter.
Warren then responded by asking the chairman if the committee ever “had a single nominee come through who has made $2.5 million off of suing one of the entities that it would be regulating, and plans to keep getting a take of every lawsuit in the future? Have we had that before?”
“I haven’t reviewed the past documentation of every other nominee’s financial interest… but I know that every time we get a nominee their financial interests are attacked,” Crapo said. “That’s why we have the Office of Government Ethics, that’s why they reviewed everything that’s in his record.”
Updated: 11:55 a.m. ET
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-WI, emphatically tells RFK he supports and appreciates RFK’s mission. He calls on lawmakers from both sides to support the candidate.
He chose to criticize Biden’s handling of the department, asking RFK if his department would be transparent.
RFK answered that lawmakers shouldn’t receive redacted documents from public health agencies over matters of critical importance.
He also repeated a common talking point of his, saying food allergies have increased in prevalence since his childhood. He then said he’s uniquely prepared for the position.
“I know how to fix it, and there's nobody who will fix it the way that I do, because I'm not scared of vested interests,” he told Johnson. Last week, RFK released his conflicts of interest.
Updated: 11:47 a.m. ET
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, turned the conversation to rural hospital closures and the Biden administration’s controversial nursing home staffing requirements.
For the former, Kennedy promised to work with lawmakers on the challenges being faced by rural healthcare and described it as a rare bipartisan health policy priority. He acknowledged that rural hospitals are rapidly closing and said that he has President Trump’s support to tackle the issue with AI and telemedicine.
“Cleveland Clinic has developed an AI nurse that you cannot distinguish from a human being. It has diagnostics as good as any doctor. We can provide concierge care to every American in this country, even the remote parts," Kennedy said.
“…We also have opportunities at HRSA and [with] GME to finally live up to GME’s mission of providing personnel to rural hospitals. And I intend to use all of my power because I’ve seen the priority it’s been given by both Democrats [and] Republicans on this committee. I intend to make that a priority.”
On the nursing home staffing requirement, Barrasso said the “harmful” policy from Biden’s administration would lead to nursing home closures across the state. RFK said the rule was “well-intentioned” and “noble” but that rural areas “just do not have the available personnel or the economics” to abide by the requirement.
“In reality, for rural areas at least, it is going to be a disaster,” RFK said.
Updated: 11:40 a.m. ET
Sen. Cortez Masto, D-NV., asked RFK if a pregnant women with life-threatening bleeding from an incomplete miscarriage goes to the ER, and her doctor determines that she needs an emergency abortion, but she’s in a state where abortion is banned, does she have the right to receive emergency care?
“I don’t know,” he said. “I mean the answer is I don’t know.”
Cortez Masto said it’s important RFK understands and follows EMTALA law.
She also asked RFK about the Inflation Reduction Act’s ability to negotiate prescription drug prices, among other provisions, given the Republicans want the IRA overturned. She also noted Trump rescinded an executive order meant to experiment with three innovative drug models.
Over the course of this hearing, Dems have hit RFK on what he believes. They say it seems he keeps deferring to whatever President Trump wants him to do in the position. RFK responded that Trump believes he is the best person to address chronic illness.
RFK seemed to mention there is another executive order coming today from Trump about drug prices.
Updated: 11:33 a.m. ET
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., started her time by stressing the importance of Medicaid, but quickly pivoted to RFK’s vaccine positions. She referenced comments from her pediatrician grandfather supporting their value in preventing illness.
“Before the measles vaccine, about 500 American children died per year form measles,” she said. “This is too much of a risk for our country and there is no reason any of us should believe you have reversed the anti-vaccine views you have promoted for 25 years.”
Hassan then worked to corner RFK on his previously stated stance against government’s regulation of abortion, which he confirmed when prompted.
“When was it that you decided to sell out the values you’ve had your whole life in order to be given power by President Trump?” she then asked.
The senator made it clear that she does not believe that RFK would stand behind his beliefs on reproductive healthcare and other issues.
“If Mr. Trump, as he did yesterday, orders a halt on Medicaid payments that are essential for taking care of people with disabilities across this country, you’re going to follow that order because you are willing to sacrifice your values, your knowledge, if President Trump tells you to do that. That, to me, is unacceptable in a Secretary for Health and Human Services.”
Updated: 11:25 a.m. ET
If confirmed, RFK said he would work collaboratively with the USDA before making policy that impacts the food supply, he told Sen. Steve Daines, R-MT.
“I have a long career working with farmers,” he said, adding that President Trump wants him to work with nominee Brooke Rollins.
Daines also brought up the topic of mifepristone, not the first time a senator has done so. RFK said that Trump has asked him to looking to the safety of the drug.
Updated: 11:21 a.m. ET
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., asked RFK for a clear “recantation” on past vaccine comments, a promise not to say vaccines are unsafe when they are and clear support for mandatory vaccinations “for diseases where that will keep people safe.”
“Frankly, you frighten people,” Whitehouse told him.
Whitehouse then turned to discussing “bureaucracy” at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, noting that Rhode Island hospitals are not reimbursed similarly to others in nearby states. He also complained about the agency’s action against a local Accountable Care Organization, and its unwillingness to issue waivers for home palliative care he said were issued elsewhere.
RFK seemed receptive to the bureaucracy comments, saying he was an “enemy” of such actions and that he was open to working with the senator to help Rhode Island healthcare organizations and patients. Whitehouse was skeptical, saying offhandedly that promises in confirmation hearings often don't amount to action for his state.
Updated: 11:15 a.m. ET
RFK on abortion to Sen. Lankford, R-OK: "President Trump has told me that he wants to end late-term abortions. He wants to protect conscientious exemptions and that he wants to end federal funding for abortions here abroad."
Updated: 11:05 a.m. ET
Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, referenced last week’s freeze on all new regulations and communications and pointed to comments sent by RFK’s campaign on Monday in support of the action. RFK said he was confused, as his campaign “doesn’t exist” anymore, and was unable to explain the messaging.
Warner then mentioned President Trump's approach to gutting the federal workforce and whether HHS offices would see reductions. RFK committed to "not firing anyone who is doing their job" based upon his own opinion, drawing concern from Warner based on his past vaccine comments.
"I don't feel like you've approach this job with the knowledge, and candidly, your willingness not to commit to try to recommend the president to make sure these funds are unfrozen, and that people's lives are at stake," he said, referencing RFK's comments on community health centers and whether they could face a funding freeze.
Updated: 10:58 a.m. ET
RFK says he finds it important to transition to a value-based system, rather than a fee-based system. He says he doesn't have a broad proposal for dismantling Medicaid but wants HHS to experiment with pilot programs in each state. Wants to increase transparency, access and accountability.
He said he is on a Medicare Advantage plan. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-LA, is asking tough questions on Medicare and Medicaid.
Notably, RFK has denied saying controversial statements in the past on topics including vaccinees, pesticides and abortion.
RFK did earn claps in the audience for saying the healthcare system is too expensive, despite health outcomes continuing to worsen.
Updated: 10:53 a.m. ET
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, opened his questions by acknowledging the health and nutrition concerns RFK has made the center of his Make America Healthy Again platform, but circled around on the appointee’s conflicting public health statements.
Among these, a confirmation on whether RFK had said that “COVID-19 was a genetically engineered bioweapon that targets Black and white people but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.”
RFK responded that he didn’t say it was “deliberately targeted” and that he was referencing a National Institutes of Health study, a response that the senator did not agree with.
Bennet went on to reference previous statements from RFK on Lyme disease as a “likely militarily engineered bioweapon” (“I likely said that,” RFK responded), that pesticides causes children to become transgender (“I never said that”), written statements about differences between “African AIDS and Western AIDS” (“I’m not sure”) and podcast statements that the decision of abortion should be left to a woman (“I believe every abortion is a tragedy”).
Bennet was unhappy with RFK’s pushback on the statements, and scolded the appointee that the country’s health is “too important for the games you’re playing.”
Updated: 10:48 a.m. ET
Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX, asks RFK if he supports PEPFAR. RFK says he "absolutely does."
Updated: 10:45 a.m. ET
RFK says substance abuse services and addiction services are a priority for him as a recovering heroin addict. Wants to improve barriers for access to care through graduate medical education (GME) under HHS. He says primary care physicians should understand addiction care.
Updated: 10:42 a.m. ET
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA, details his agricultural expectations of RFK. He reportedly met with RFK in the weeks leading up the hearing over his food regulation views.
Updated: 10:39 a.m. ET
Sen. Wyden opened his questions by confronting RFK’s previous comments on vaccination recorded in podcasts. In one, he said that “no vaccine is safe” and in another he said that he would “do anything” to be able to go back in time and stop his children from being vaccinated.
RFK responded to the questions by telling Wyden that the former statement was cut off, and that he planned to finish by specifying that no individual vaccine is safe for every person, referencing person-to-person safety concerns.
Wyden’s questions also touched on RFK’s influence on vaccination rates and subsequent measles deaths in Samoa, which RFK said preceded his arrival in the country.
Wyden frequently pointed to books written by RFK in which the appointee cast doubt on vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases. Kennedy responded that his words were being mischaracterized.
“Anybody who believes that ought to look at the measles book you wrote saying parents have been misled into believing that measles isn’t a deadly disease. That’s not true,” Wyden finished.
During the exchange, a second protestor yelled out in disagreement with RFK's statements and was escorted out.
Updated: 10:30 a.m. ET
In the middle of RFK's opening statement, a protestor yells "he lies!" the first time Kennedy declares he's not anti-vaccine. The protestor is removed from the hearing.
Chair Mike Crapo, R-ID, and ranking member Ron Wyden, D-OR, gave opening statements to kick off the hearing. Crapo said RFK represents an "opportunity for a new and better approach" while Wyden stated it's clear RFK's record is contradictory and conspiratorial.
Crapo said the following:
“Throughout this process, Mr. Kennedy, you have been accessible to members and staff on both sides of the aisle and have demonstrated a strong commitment to fulfilling the responsibilities of this role. The Department of Health and Human Services oversees our nation’s largest health care programs, providing coverage for nearly two in every five Americans. Improving Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP, among other initiatives, presents challenges, especially in the face of a rapidly aging population, stubbornly high costs and persistent barriers to access. However, this also provides us an opportunity to deliver bold, transformative solutions. As a Committee, we share a commitment to advancing commonsense, bipartisan policies that improve the delivery of health care in this country. This Committee has worked to realign incentives in the prescription drug supply chain, enhance access in rural communities, expand the availability of telehealth and improve the broken clinician payment structure. Across these and other issues, I look forward to working with the Administration to continue pursuing meaningful reforms that serve the American people more effectively and efficiently. Too often, patients encounter a health care system that is a disjointed, dysfunctional maze. Complex and bureaucratic chutes and ladders have become the norm. Meanwhile, even as health care spending climbs, outcomes across a range of conditions continue to decline. Mr. Kennedy, if confirmed, you will have the opportunity to chart a new and better course for the federal approach to tackling both the drivers and the consequences of our ailing health care system. Your commitment to combatting chronic conditions that drive health care costs will be critical to our success. Prioritizing disease prevention and addressing the factors that fuel conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, Alzheimer’s disease, COPD and cancer will save lives, reduce costs and build a healthier, stronger country. Private-sector breakthroughs, from groundbreaking cancer medications to curative gene therapies, offer hope. But misguided government initiatives and market volatility risk eroding American leadership in lifesaving R&D. Your advocacy for health care transparency has the potential to empower consumers across the country, promoting competition to enhance quality while cutting excessive spending, both for patients and for taxpayers."
Wyden, in part, said the following:
The question before the Finance Committee this morning is whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should be trusted with the health and well-being of the American people. Committee staff have examined thousands of pages of statements, books, and podcast transcripts in a review of his record.
The receipts show that Mr. Kennedy has embraced conspiracy theories, quacks, and charlatans, especially when it comes to the safety and efficacy of vaccines. He's made it his life's work to sow doubt and discourage parents from getting their kids life-saving vaccines. It’s been lucrative for him and put him on the verge of real power. This is the profile of somebody who chases money and influence wherever they lead, even if that means the deaths of children and other vulnerable people.
Mr. Kennedy is fond of saying he’s not making recommendations about whether parents should vaccinate their children, he’s just asking questions and giving people choices.
It’s a slippery tactic to dodge any real responsibility for his words and actions, and it’s absurd coming from somebody who’s trying to win confirmation for a job that is entirely about making recommendations. Those recommendations will have life-or-death consequences for American families. Mr. Kennedy, if you are confirmed, your recommendations determine which vaccines seniors get for free through Medicare. Your recommendations will determine which vaccines are given to millions of children.
Peddling these anti-vaccine conspiracy theories as our chief health care officer will endanger the lives of kids and seniors across the country. Just look at what happened when Mr. Kennedy inserted himself into an anti-vaccination crisis in the island nation of Samoa. He traveled there himself to push his views and pour fuel on the fire of a measles outbreak that began due to low vaccination rates. In the end, 83 Samoans died, mostly children, from a disease that is easily preventable. Americans can’t afford to import this experiment to communities across the country.
On other health care matters, from abortion to universal health care, Mr. Kennedy has changed his views so often, it’s nearly impossible to know where he stands on the basic issues that will impact Americans’ daily lives.
In a gobsmacking statement of irresponsibility, in November 2023 this nominee said he wanted to pause infectious disease research for eight years.
Mr. Kennedy has indicated he’s open to restricting access to the abortion medication, Mifepristone, which remains a primary target of Republicans’ crusade against reproductive freedom. I took this on back in 1990 when I chaired the first ever Congressional hearing on the topic. The science was clear then and it’s even clearer today: Mifepristone is safe. The only reason it’s under question in 2025 is because people with a political agenda are lying about it.
Women deserve to know if Mr. Kennedy will abuse his power as our country’s chief health officer to essentially implement a national abortion ban by restricting access to this safe and legal medication.
Meanwhile, as the Trump budget office threw the Medicaid program into chaos yesterday, Republicans in Congress are proposing deep cuts to the program that will rip away health care from millions of Americans who count on this vital lifeline.
Cuts to Medicaid of this magnitude will jack up the cost of health insurance, shutter nursing homes and rural hospitals, and deprive seniors and Americans with disabilities of home-based care. That approach amounts to handing over our nation’s health care system to for-profit insurance companies that have made a fortune delaying and denying care.
Mr. Kennedy has virtually no knowledge or experience in handling these issues, leaving him unprepared to take on a crisis like the nation witnessed yesterday when Trump’s budget office shut down the federal Medicaid payment portal.
After a careful review of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s statements, actions, associations and views, I have reached the conclusion that he should not be entrusted with the health and well-being of the American people. When he’s taken every side of every issue, how can this committee and the American public believe anything he has to say?
Pre-hearing
Before the hearing began, protestors wore Make Polio Great Again shirts and handed out walking canes, in an apparent protest of Kennedy's vaccine views. Others inside the room are wearing lab coats.
As the hearing began, National Nurses United, the largest union and professional association of registered nurses, released a statement calling on RFK to fail his confirmation process.