Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the United States Department of Health and Human Services, appeared before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee for a confirmation hearing Wednesday.
The fate of Kennedy’s confirmation rests in the hands of the 25-member committee and the 21-member U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). The latter committee is scheduled to hold its own confirmation hearing where senators will consider Kennedy’s nomination Thursday.
Kennedy needs to secure the support of a simple majority of 13 senators on the Finance Committee and 11 senators on the HELP Committee for his nomination to advance to the full Senate, where he will require a simple majority of 51 votes. Currently, the Senate Finance Committee consists of 13 Republicans and 12 Democrats, the Senate HELP Committee has 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats, while the U.S. Senate is comprised of 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats.
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Senators questioned Kennedy about a wide variety of topics, including his views on abortion and vaccines. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., also entered a letter from Kennedy’s cousin, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the-late President John F. Kennedy, into the Congressional record, describing what Wyden referred to as his “lack of personal fitness for the office” and calling him a “predator.”
Here are five highlights from Kennedy’s confirmation hearing.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
