The Senate confirms RFK Jr.

Washington
Cnn
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The Senate voted on Thursday to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Health and Human Services Secretary, a victory for President Donald Trump, after Kennedy faced intense control over his controversial view of vaccines and public health policy.

The 52-48 vote was largely along party lines, though Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky once again came along with the Democrats to oppose the nomination. McConnell has now voted against three of Trump’s cabinet -nominated, more than any other Republican Senator.

The confirmation vote emphasizes the extent of Trump’s influence on the Senate GOP majority, as a slate of disputed nominees who were facing questions about whether they could be confirmed – including Kennedy, Pete Hegeth as defense secretary and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence – has been approved by Senate Republicans for Top Administration Posts.

McConnell, who also opposed the affirmations of Hegeth and Gabbard, has undergone a development in his party and moved from the establishment leader to a key swing vote. McConnell has had a strained relationship with Trump and others in the Maga sphere for years, partly because of his resistance to the Republican Party’s growing isolationist strip.

McConnell quoted his experience as a survivor of childhood polio in a statement explaining his resistance to Kennedy.

“This administration-led by the same president who provided a medical miracle with Project Warp-speed-deserves a leader who is willing to recognize without the qualifying of the effectiveness of life-saving vaccines and can demonstrate an understanding of Basic elements of the US health system, ”McConnell said. “Mr. Kennedy couldn’t prove that he is the best possible person to lead America’s biggest health agency. ”

Kennedy will now act as one of the country’s leading public health officials.

The US Ministry of Health and Human Services consists of a number of important federal health agencies, including Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During confirmation hearings at Capitol Hill, Kennedy denied To be anti-vaccine and tell the senators instead that he is “pro-security.” He continued to say, “I think vaccines play a critical role in health care.”

At one point, Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont -independent, asked Kennedy, whether he agrees that the evidence shows that vaccines do not cause autism, referring to dozens of studies. Kennedy started saying, “If you show me these studies I will definitely -” At what time Sanders jumped in to say, “It’s a very worrying response because the studies are there. Your job is to have looked at these studies As an applicant for this job.

This is not the first time Kennedy says he is not a “anti-vaccine” but as a CNN fact-fact of 2023 noticed, despite these claims, Kennedy has been one of the country’s most prominent anti-vaccine activists and Has used false for years and to mislead claims to undermine public confidence in vaccines that are actually safe.

Routine child vaccinations are expected to prevent hundreds of millions of diseases, tens of thousands of millions of admissions and more than 1 million deaths among people born between 1994 and 2023, according to CDC. Vaccines are thoroughly tested before their release and their safety is constantly monitored.

During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy also made several mistakes when describing how Medicare and Medicaid work, elaborating on Democrats’ concerns about his ability to lead the massive agency. As HHS secretary, he will oversee the two programs that provide health insurance to more than 150 million Americans.

At one point he described the wrong Medicare Part A as “mainly for primary care or doctors” when it actually covers interior hospital care. He also skipped the fact that half of enrollments are in Medicare Advantage plans run by private insurance companies paid by the government to look after the recipients. Plus, he said Medicare is paid for by employer taxes, omitting the other financing flows, such as enrolle prizes and state aid.

When he describes Medicaid, Kennedy said the program is fully funded by the federal government, but it is actually jointly funded by the federal government and states. And he said the costs in Medicaid are too high, although states only charge nominal copies for certain services.

Kennedy launched a presidential bid during the election cycle in the 2024-first as a democratic challenger to then President Joe Biden, then as independent-focused to reverse “the chronic illness epidemic.” He suggested several policies aimed at reviewing food security and environmental guidelines, promoting holistic drugs and restructuring public funding for vaccine research.

In the last days of Kennedy’s campaign, he met with Trump on several occasions, where the two discussed the possibility of supporting Trump in return for a role in his administration. Kennedy later suspended his campaign and approved Trump.

The votes to confirm Kennedy along with Gabbard and Hegeth emphasize the degree to which Trump the White House has been able to keep Republican Senators in line throughout the verification process, minimizing dissent when administration attempts a historic overhaul of the federal government.

The White House ultimately won over skeptical GOP senators through a mix of Trump’s personal conversations with senators, extensive commitment from Vice President JD Vance – a former senator from Ohio – and insurances from nominated that their previously controversial views would not run their positions in Trump’s cabinet.

The closest to Trump has long believed that successfully pushing his nominees through the confirmation process would be an important early test of his strength on Capitol Hill, several sources familiar with the strategy told CNN.

Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and Doctor, at one point said he “fought” with Kennedy’s nomination. But Cassidy later announced that he would vote yes and said he had what he described as “intense conversations” with the White House and thanked Vance for “honest advice.”

GOP -SEN. Lisa Murkowski from Alaska said on Wednesday she would support RFK Jr.’s confirmation.

Murkowski said, “I am still concerned about Mr. Kennedy’s view of vaccines and his selective interpretation of scientific studies that initially caused my concerns about his nomination.” But the senator continued to say that Kennedy “has committed me several obligations to me and my colleagues and promised to work with Congress to ensure public access to information and to base vaccine recommendations on data -driven, evidence -based and medically healthy research. ”

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNNS Tami Luhby, Em Steck, Annie Grayer, Aaron Pellish and Lauren Fox contributed to this report.