Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

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Senate Panel Backs RFK Jr. for Health Secretary

His nomination now goes to the full Senate

(Newser) - A Senate panel advanced the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become the next health secretary on Tuesday morning, reports the New York Times . In the closely watched vote by the Senate Finance Committee, Kennedy prevailed in a 14-13 result along party lines, per the Hill . The pivotal vote...

Kennedy's Fate May Rest With One Senator on Tuesday

Both he and Tulsi Gabbard face committee votes on their Trump nominations

(Newser) - It's a do-or-die day for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard on their Cabinet nominations. The Senate Finance Committee will vote Tuesday morning on whether to advance Kennedy as health secretary, and the intelligence committee will vote in the afternoon on whether Gabbard should oversee the nation's...

Kennedy Faces Senators for a Second Day
Two GOP Doctors Clash
During Kennedy Hearing
UPDATED

Two GOP Doctors Clash During Kennedy Hearing

Bill Cassidy fact-checks Rand Paul on vaccines

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy returned to the Capitol on Thursday for Round 2 of his confirmation hearings, and the hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee was as testy as Wednesday's before the Senate Finance Committee. Some key moments from the hearing:
  • "What will you do
...

Sanders to RFK Jr.: 'Do You Support These Onesies?

Key lines from the RFK Jr. hearing

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled by members of the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday in the first of two confirmation hearings. President Trump's nominee to lead Health and Human Services faced questions about his stance on issues including vaccines, abortion—and onesies.
  • "Do you support these onesies?"
...

Nicole Shanahan Plays Hardball as RFK Jr. Is Grilled

Shanahan threatens to fund primary challenges against senators who don't vote to confirm him

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared before the Senate Finance Committee for the first of two days of confirmation hearings Wednesday, and there was discord even before he had finished his opening statement. After Kennedy, President Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, said, "News...

Caroline Kennedy to Senators: Don't Confirm 'Predator' RFK Jr.

She says her cousin is a hypocrite 'addicted to attention and power'

(Newser) - Caroline Kennedy has urged senators to vote against her "predator" cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his "irresponsible beliefs" in this week's confirmation hearings. In a letter to senators and a video statement, the former ambassador to Australia warned against putting RFK Jr. "in charge of...

RFK Jr. Petitioned the FDA to Stop COVID Vaccinations

NYT reports petition was filed in May 2021

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sought to have the authorization for COVID vaccines yanked six months after they had been released, the New York Times reports. Kennedy—President-elect Trump's health secretary nominee—filed a citizen petition to that end with the FDA in May 2021 on behalf of his Children'...

Op-Ed: Vaccine 'Skeptic' Isn't the Right Term for RFK Jr.

He's a 'vaccine cynic,' writes a pediatrician who advises the FDA

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is routinely described as a "vaccine skeptic" in the news, but pediatrician Paul Offit doesn't think the description fits. In a New York Times essay, Offit describes himself as a vaccine skeptic in his role as a member of the FDA's vaccine advisory...

Martha Moxley's Mother Never Quit Seeking Justice for Her

Conviction of Michael Skakel, whose defenders included his cousin RFK Jr., was overturned

(Newser) - Dorthy Moxley, who fought for decades to bring her teenage daughter's killer to justice in a roller-coaster Connecticut murder case that held the nation's attention for years, has died. She was 92. John Moxley said his mother died Tuesday at her home in Summit, New Jersey, of complications...

McConnell Bristles at 'Dangerous' Noise Over Polio Vaccine

GOP senator, who had polio as a kid, seems to hint that RFK Jr. should 'steer clear' of anti-vax moves

(Newser) - Mitch McConnell pushed back Friday after it was revealed that an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump's nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, petitioned the FDA two years ago to halt the polio vaccine in the US pending further study. Axios reports that the 82-year-old Senate...

Ally of RFK Jr. Wants Halt to Polio Vaccinations in US

Aaron Siri, who's helping to hire health officials, calls for more study

(Newser) - An ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. petitioned the FDA in 2022 to pull government approval for administering the polio vaccine—used in the US since 1955—for young children until it's been studied more. Aaron Siri, a lawyer who worked for Kennedy's presidential campaign and is helping...

Trump: Maybe RFK Jr. Could Look Into Vaccine-Autism Link

Both have a history of promoting the long-debunked claim

(Newser) - Assuming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as President-elect Trump's Health and Human Services secretary, it appears he may be utilizing that role to delve into the idea—long-debunked—of a connection between vaccines and autism. Kennedy has long pushed the theory, and Trump has done the same since...

Biden Backs Medicare, Medicaid 'Game Changer' for Obese

Proposal to add coverage of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic for those with BMI of 30+

(Newser) - Millions of Americans with obesity would be eligible to have popular weight-loss drugs like Wegovy or Ozempic covered by Medicare or Medicaid under a new rule the Biden administration proposed Tuesday morning, per the AP . The costly proposal from the US Department of Health and Human Services sets the stage...

Trump Picks Oil CEO for Energy Secretary

Musk lobbies Trump over choice for Treasury

(Newser) - President-elect Trump on Saturday announced he's chosen campaign donor and fracking company CEO Chris Wright for the top job at the Department of Energy. Wright, who runs Liberty Energy, also will be a member of Trump's planned Council of National Energy, CNN reports. The chair of that body...

RFK Jr. Pick Wipes Billions Off the Value of Vaccine Firms

Companies including Pfizer, Moderna dropped sharply after Trump announcement

(Newser) - Thursday was a good day for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a bad day for companies that make vaccines. As President-elect Trump announced that Kennedy will be his nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, stocks in top vaccine makers dropped sharply, wiping billions of dollars off...

Trump Delivers First Post-Election Speech

At Mar-a-Lago gala, Sylvester Stallone praises president-elect as 'second George Washington'

(Newser) - President-elect Trump praised nominees including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his first public post-election speech. Trump, speaking to an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago resort Thursday night, described last week's election as "the most consequential election in the last 129 years," the BBC reports....

Trump Picks Kennedy to 'Make America Healthy Again'

President-elect says he's 'thrilled' to announce RFK Jr. will be his nominee for health secretary

(Newser) - President-elect Trump continued his stream of controversial Cabinet appointments on Thursday, saying he was "thrilled" to announce that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be his nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
  • "For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and
...

Kennedy: Trump's Diet Is 'Really, Like, Bad'

'The food that goes onto that airplane is, like, just poison'

(Newser) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abandoned his independent presidential bid to become a Donald Trump supporter—but he's not a supporter of the president-elect's diet. In a post-election interview with podcaster Joe Polish, Kennedy said the food on Trump's campaign plane was like "poison," the New ...

Kennedy: 'I'm Not Going to Take Away Anybody's Vaccines'

Former candidate says FDA divisions need to be shut down

(Newser) - The details of his job in Donald Trump's next administration have been contested, but Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been angling for a major role overseeing federal health agencies. Kennedy said last week that Trump has promised him control of the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Health...

SCOTUS Rejects RFK Jr.'s Emergency Appeal

He will remain on Michigan, Wisconsin ballots

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has rejected Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s last-ditch bid to have himself removed from ballots in two swing states. In the emergency appeal, Kennedy, who suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump in August, argued that leaving his name on ballots in Michigan and Wisconsin would...

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