Politics

Kennedy one step closer to confirmation as health secretary after Senate vote

The 53-47 vote was a stunning show of Republican support for President Donald Trump, who embraced Kennedy, the scion of a liberal Democratic dynasty, and promised to let him “go wild” on health.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, arrives at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, January 29, 2025. Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times Service

February 12, 2025

2 minutes to read

WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the vaccine critic who spawned a movement he calls “Make America Healthy Again,” moved one step closer to becoming the nation’s health secretary Wednesday after the Senate voted along party lines to advance his nomination, setting the stage for a final confirmation vote, likely Thursday.

The 53-47 vote was a stunning show of Republican support for President Donald Trump, who embraced Kennedy, the scion of a liberal Democratic dynasty, and promised to let him “go wild” on health. And it was a sign of Kennedy’s strength; in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s election, many observers thought he would be unable to win confirmation.

Kennedy’s vocal criticism of vaccination made some Republicans deeply uneasy. During his confirmation hearings, he refused to accept the scientific consensus that vaccines do not cause autism, rejecting large-scale studies that have found no link.

But at the same time, Kennedy declared himself in favor of the measles vaccine and the polio vaccine and vowed not to do anything as health secretary that would prevent or discourage people from taking those shots.

Among the most closely watched votes Wednesday was that of Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader and the Senate’s lone polio survivor, who voted in favor of moving ahead with the confirmation. That does not mean McConnell’s final vote is assured; he voted to advance the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, but voted against confirming her Wednesday.

McConnell did not have a customary courtesy visit with Kennedy, and he had warned that “anyone seeking the Senate’s consent to serve in the incoming administration would do well to steer clear” of “efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures.” Polio survivors were watching his vote closely.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, whose support for Kennedy was also uncertain, also voted in favor. Murkowski told Kennedy during his confirmation hearing that vaccination campaigns had been essential to the survival of Alaska’s Native people.

Both McConnell and Murkowski had kept their plans a tight secret. Still, it was clear going into Wednesday’s vote that the nomination would move forward. Kennedy had already won the support of two other key Republicans: Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who along with Murkowski is one of the few remaining Republican centrists, and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. That panel oversees the Department of Health and Human Services, which Kennedy, if confirmed, would lead.

Cassidy, a doctor, is an ardent proponent of vaccines. Early in his medical career, he cared for a young woman who required an emergency liver transplant because of her infection with hepatitis B, a disease that vaccines can prevent — a story he recounted when Kennedy testified before the health committee.

“Since then, I have tried to do everything I can to make sure I never have to speak to another parent about their child dying due to a vaccine-preventable disease,” Cassidy said in that hearing. He later had heated exchanges with Kennedy about vaccines and autism, and declared himself in a quandary over how to vote.

But in the end, Cassidy backed the nomination after winning certain concessions, including a promise from Kennedy to give Congress advance notice of any vaccine policy changes.