The Senate committee’s approval of Robert F. Kennedy’s nomination on Tuesday marked the first step toward his confirmation as the US health secretary.
All Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee voted in favor of the vaccine skeptic, whose health expertise has been questioned, who put his support behind Donald Trump after dropping his own presidential candidacy. The vote was split along party lines, 14–13.
Now, Kennedy’s nomination will be put to a vote by the entire US Senate, which is controlled by Republicans 53–47.
Senators evaluated Kennedy’s understanding of US public health infrastructure and asked him about his opinions on vaccines and other health-related topics.
He maintained throughout the sessions that he was neither a conspiracy theorist nor against vaccines.
