Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is President Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. He faced more tough questions in his second confirmation hearing, held Thursday before the Senate HELP Committee.
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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s history of stoking anxiety about vaccines was the central topic on Thursday in his second day of Senate confirmation hearings. President Trump’s choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy faced tough questions from Democrats, as well as a few key Republican senators.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a physician and chairman of the committee, said he faced a “dilemma” over whether to support Kennedy’s confirmation at the end of more than three hours of questioning Thursday.
‘Gold standard science’
Throughout the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) Committee hearing, Kennedy called for a return to “gold standard science” and said he would support vaccines if shown data backing their safety. But when presented with such data, Kennedy said he wasn’t familiar with it or cited reasons to doubt it.
